A Taste of Forever
by xxivxo
Summary: The tantalizing relations from steamy encounters that over time, become something much more than either of them ever expected. YuxYosuke.
1. Prologue

He says "kiss me like you miss me, fuck me like you hate me  
And when you're fucking someone else just fuck her like she ain't me"

Moans were ragged as nails dragged over skin. The heightening levels of the atmosphere growing to dangerous levels as two bodies were intertwined with one another.

It had grown beyond all boundaries of just being _innocent_. For the past two weeks the duo had been making every excuse imaginable to get a moment alone together. Every meeting had become more intense than the last. Any form of decency had been dashed away.

To say they still had a friendship would be smudging the truth. It was teetering on that line that should never be blurred.

Yosuke always insisted that things never got weird. The leader was always present in going on dates with girls who were clearly interested in him, but that didn't stop him from dragging his supposed best friend into darkened alleyways,

It was a war within each of their minds. Each arguing that nothing would come of it, but every moment of ecstasy had that downfall of realization that they only wanted to feel this with the other and no one else.

"We have to stop this."

"This is the last time."

Whispers broken in the midst of passion-the promise of it being the _**final**_ time. But the phone ringing not even an hour later shows the truth in those lies.

"_I don't-I don't want this to end."_

"_Neither do I."_

**And so it never does.**

- A Taste of Forever


	2. Encounter 1

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 1 -_

* * *

The night was growing late. The partner duo was sitting back against the bottom the couch, the futon on the floor beneath them to provide more comfort. The TV was on, volume rather low, but the usual guy-setting was happening nonetheless.

It had been a night where Dojima was assured to be out of the house until the next evening. Nanako had been glued to her usual shows downstairs and would probably end up falling asleep soon.

That left the two with the opportunity to have their eyes fixated on the erotic scenes playing out on their own TV.

"Do you think girls really _like_ that?"

"Like what?"

"When you're rough with them like that?"

Both guys tilted their head to the right as the woman on the screen was being pushed over to an odd angel while having one guy force himself into her from behind and another into her mouth.

"I dunno man; it doesn't look like it would be much of a turn on."

"Well you're not the one being fucked, so how can you judge it?"

"I-I'm not judging I just, dude whatever." Yosuke was a bit flushed, not sure how to respond as he was trying not to think about if he had been in that situation.

Yu leaned his head closer to his friend, looking at him closely just as the one being observed sputtered slightly and tried to lean back on his hand.

"Yu-what are you doing?"

"You seem distracted now."

"I'm not I was just thinking. Anyways, this isn't that good anyways." Yosuke quickly got up, shuffling across the futon to turn off the porn that wasn't as appealing to him as he initially thought it would be.

Yu sat there, one arm propped up along the couch as he stared over at his friend. The TV fizzled back to some random program as the DVD was slipped away and set aside. For a moment, nothing was said as they both looked at random objects and then slowly to one another.

"Have you ever thought about it?"

Yosuke heard the question but he wasn't sure just what was being asked.

"Thought about what?"

"Well, doing things with a guy."

"What-dude-_**no**_! You know I'm not like that." Auburn hair was waving rapidly as Yosuke shook his head, his arms flailing to try and further prove his point. "Why, have _you_?"

With a shrug, Yu kept a steady gaze on his friend. "Sometimes. After everything with Kanji, it was hard not to think about it at least once."

Yosuke had to lean against the bookshelf nearby. His best friend was admitting to him that he had once, twice, or maybe more, thought about guys or a guy, or who the hell knew. Even still, it made him feel nervous, his heart began to beat uneasily, and he couldn't help but stare at the figure across the room.

"What was it like-I mean-did you um-_like it_?"

"It wasn't bad." Yu let his gaze flicker slightly as he subsequently looked at his friend from head to toe in a quick instant.

Feeling his mouth going dry, Yosuke tried to swallow, much less keep a reminder that he had to breathe. Was this conversation really happening right now? They were just watching porn with **girls** in it mere minutes ago, and now here they were, having a conversation that was borderline bi-curious.

"In fact, I was surprised."

"Surprised, why?"

"Yosuke, what do you normally think about when you do _that_?"

Yu started to move up from where he was sitting, keeping a steady gaze on his friend all the while.

Why was he being asked this? It would've been obvious what he thought about, usually porn, sometimes a cute girl he might've seen somewhere around town. He hadn't thought of guys like that, he just never did. There was never that underlying feeling of it being okay to do so, it was like a restraint on him somehow, though, he couldn't figure out why he always got so nervous when the subject was brought up in any conversation.

The way the other was approaching him only made that nervousness increase.

"I-I think about girls and stuff. Man why are you acting so weird right now?"

"I'm not acting weird. I'm just being honest."

"Then what have you thought about?" The words slipped from his mouth from a string of curiosity that he didn't know existed. Yosuke felt himself blushing, already becoming embarrassed from what he was about to hear.

The entire time, Yu had been playing a game. He hadn't been _serious_ of course. Although, he had grown comfortable enough in his own skin to be able to joke around about such things, he knew the other hadn't. It was always fun to tease him though.

Brown eyes were completely wide as the other person in the room stood in front of him, rather closely. With that calm face that was normally present in everyday conversation, Yu leaned in a little, letting the words sink in for more of an effect.

"I thought about you." The panic was already showing in the other's eyes just as Yu continued on. "I bent you over, and fucked you even more roughly than in that video. But I wasn't finished with you, so I flipped you back over, started fucking you for a second time, watching you moan and cry out my name as your cum-"

Yosuke's hands moved to cover the mouth that was speaking such things. His heart was beating so hard it was about to fall out of his chest, and his breathing was staggered from how he had inhaled and forgot to exhale properly. Listening to the descriptions, it had been too much. Those eyes staring at him as he said it, and the overwhelming unease that was now settling over him, he wasn't sure how to feel right now.

Yu smirked, moving a hand up to push the fair-skinned hands away from his mouth. They fell easily; his friend was clearly more than shocked to process very much now. It was as he saw those brown eyes staring at him with uncertainty that he tilted his head in and spoke lowly.

"I was joking."

Joking. **It was a joke**. Yosuke should've felt relieved, but he didn't.

The unconscious feeling that something wasn't right made him realize something that caused another wave of shock to run through him. The uncomfortable feeling past his hips, he knew what it was. The repeating question in his mind was why? Why was he actually turned on?

"Ahaha of course you were. You had me there for a minute man." Yosuke barely was able to get those words out as he tried to appear calm. He needed to get to the bathroom fast.

Yu sensed the unease still showing, that tensing up from how his body was moving slightly to the side. His grey eyes shifted down; catching a quick glimpse of something he didn't expect to see.

Although he had been joking, it looked as if his descriptions had gotten the best of his friend. For some reason, that sent a thrilling chill up his spine. He had been joking, yes, but there was a half-truth in there too. On a few occasions, he had caught himself thinking a bit too far into the interactions between himself and his best friend. So much so, that it got the better of him too.

"You're hard."

Yosuke jumped slightly, bumping back into the bookshelf as he saw those grey eyes staring at him closely. If his heart had almost fallen out of his chest before it most certainly had now. The words had affected him in a way he hadn't thought possible, and now he had to deal with that judgment. The fact that he had always reacted strangely in terms of anything involving guys; it was just a defense for something he wasn't sure about.

Was this where that uncertainty stemmed from? Those grey eyes and that voice-was this the cause of why he always wanted to be so close to his best friend? There were too many questions and not enough time to gather any answers.

"I..It was just the video."

Yu knew that was a lie. Generally, neither of them actually had ever gotten hard from their porn sessions. And the fact that Yosuke had stated that the video wasn't that good gave even more of a reason for him not to be hard from the video.

"You said you didn't like it." Those grey eyes had a hidden look of being unconvinced, and within seconds Yosuke was left trying to grab at any excuse or any kind of words to respond with without looking completely stupid.

He failed at that of course.

"I-It's just, the video was-no I mean-I don't know."

Feeling a huge amount of curiosity and an indescribable desire, Yu moved a hand down, grasping at the slender hip of his friend. Leaning his head closer, their lips brushed for a second as if to test the subtle connection.

It was difficult to avert away from. Yu gripped at the hip underneath of his palm, as if to signal that things were about to take a very different turn that night. Moving back in for a second taste, his lips pressed fully against the light shade of pink.

Yosuke was under a veil of shock, confusion, and desire. The first time their lips had touched, he had felt more shock than anything else. The way their eyes had met after that, it made him feel like he was falling more into that feeling of actually wanting to do something.

He'd already embarrassed himself once, and now he wasn't sure how his mind and body were going to cooperate on this change. But as lips met his own again, he was responding in an instant.

His mind was reeling, trying to process the who, what, when, and why of the situation.

But as their lips continued running over one another, pressing more roughly, and now parting to taste more of each other-it was becoming difficult to think of anything but his best friend who was kissing him with such a passion that was almost dangerous.

Moans were muffled in the brushing, touching, and forceful contact of lips. They were bumped back against the bookshelf, slowly teetering closer to the bed. It was as the bump against the lower part of the mattress was felt at Yosuke's legs that he slowly snapped back into reality.

"What are we…what…"

Yosuke stood there, leaned back slightly as he was trying to find a way to breathe. Nothing but confusion filled his brown eyes as he tried to figure out just what had transpired here.

"We were kissing."

"I know but dude-I-I have to go-!"

Pulling away from that firm grasp on his hips, Yosuke quickly ran across the room, trying not to trip as he hastily grabbed his school bag and was flying out the door seconds later.

Yu stood there, unsure of how this was going to affect things, but only knowing that he was left alone with a problem to take care of on his own.

The next day at school was starting out relatively normal.

The thoughts that were swirling in both of their minds were far from that though.

A headphone wearing individual had spent most of his night tossing and turning in bed while trying to sort out just what the hell had happened. Why had he done that, and why had he wanted more? Even after he got home, he couldn't deny giving into that feeling and had ended up doing that over the one he had been sucking face with less than an hour before.

It threw him for a loop, and completely shattered his focus on anything. He was feigning his normal, happy routine as best he could while trying not to give any signals to his friend of any awkwardness.

Yu had been sore about having something taken away from him, something that he probably could've had. If he had just kept his grip tighter, kissed him longer, things probably would've been far different that morning. Instead they were sitting in their desks, an odd tension hanging in the air just above the two of them.

It wasn't like he ever planned on making such moves on his best friend, the opportunity presented itself, and their bond was tested. It was clear that something was there.

They had a deep connection, already from a close friendship, large amounts of trust, and high comfort levels. It was only a matter of time before this area of their relationship was stepped upon.

And so, in order to get things back onto that level again, Yu began to set his plan in motion.

"Ms. Kashiwagi, I don't feel very…"

Within seconds, Yu had fallen from his desk and onto the floor.

Students instantly sat up in their desks, staring at the scene as the teacher walked over, her breasts flailing. She knelt down, looking down at him as she placed a hand on his forehead.

"Oh my, do you need to see the nurse my poor Narukami Yu?"

"I think, I think I should." He laid there, still acting helpless as she was clearly buying into it.

Yosuke sat there, staring down at the two on the floor right next to him. Feeling so jumbled up over that one person made it hard for him to even look down at the scene. Sure he was concerned, he just didn't know how to react so he just stared down at his desk.

"Mr. Hanamura, I think you should go with him to the nurse's office."

Instantly feeling mortified, Yosuke simply swallowed and stood up. He couldn't refuse a teacher's demands, and he certainly wouldn't refuse hers since she scared him. Yu was being helped back to his feet by the woman just as she caressed his cheek.

"I hope you feel better." She moved back over to the board just as the two teens made their way out of the room.

The hallways were empty. All the afternoon classes had just started, so no one would be entering the halls again for at least another hour. Their footsteps echoes along, no words being exchanged as they walked a few feet away from one another.

"You know I'm not really sick."

Yosuke stopped walking.

They were approaching the stairway that led to the second floor where the nurse's office was located. It was just as he was going to turn and look at his friend, that he was grabbed and dragged into a nearby classroom.

It appeared to be empty. The lights were off, and just as they entered the door was locked securely behind of them. Yu dragged him further in, away from the door and closer to the front of the room where no windows were located.

"The fuck are we doing skipping class for man?"

"I brought you here to finish what we started last night."

The darkest shade of red sparked on Yosuke's cheeks as he went to walk away, but was simply grabbed again, being pulled back against the unmoving figure of Yu.

"Last night-it was just us being stupid."

"Was it?"

Yu stared down at his friend intently, searching for those other pair of eyes for something. There was that flicker of doubt, and it was all he needed to know that what he was intending to do wouldn't be denied.

"I-don't know-we really shouldn't be in here."

Keeping his grip firm, Yu leaned down, claiming those lips as he pressed that lithe body against him as much as possible. It only took a few moments of coercing with the brushing of his lips to feel the other starting to respond despite having made a few muffles of protest.

He had no idea why he was kissing back again. All night, he had been arguing with himself that it had just been something done in the heat of the moment. But his subconscious was seemingly doing everything for him; and it felt like a betrayal to his initial thoughts. Every time he pressed his lips back and the kisses only became rougher, it was slowly revealing that attraction that was clearly there between them.

Things continued onward, growing more heated as time passed. Simple kisses turned to passionate exchanges, bodies colliding against one another, clothes slowly being tugged and thrown aside.

Yu hovered over his friend who was lying beneath of him on the floor. Their faces were flushed from how turned on they had become from the kisses and touches that had become nothing but teasing to them. Yosuke was clad in the top of his school uniform, but his pants had been tossed aside seconds before. Leaning down, Yu started to tug off the boxers that clung at the hips of the fair-skinned body.

Yosuke breathed in slowly, lifting his hips as his erection was revealed completely to grey eyes. He had lost all sense of caring long ago, only concerned now about the pleasure that was building and the one who was causing all of it to occur.

Lips moved to kiss back onto that fair-skin neck, biting along the skin near the collar bone just as Yosuke moaned uneasily. Yu shifted his hips, pushing down his pants but kept them resting around his hips. Fair-skinned hands moved up past the unzipped pants to the other's boxers, clutching at them to start pushing them down enough to free what was needed.

"Yu…please.."

"Please?"

Yosuke stared up at him, his breathing ragged as his face was flushed from what he was actually asking of his best friend. Those hands finished pulling down the boxers, revealing the erection that was slightly bigger than his. It made him blush even more but also feel that longing even more than before.

"Just-do it. _You know_-"

Yu leaned down, kissing the other roughly just as ran his hand down to stroke the pre-cum that was at the tip of his dick over the entire length of himself. The few drips that remained were coated over his fingers which moved down, pressing at the entrance of the man he was silencing with his dominating lips.

Fingers slipped in, slowly, one by one, preparing the other for what was to happen. The feeling was foreign, but as a few minutes passed, the kisses had to muffle the moans from how a certain spot was being touched deep inside of him. His hips were bucking upward, wanting to feel more of it.

Those fingers were replaced with something much bigger. Withdrawing from the kiss, their eyes locked with one another just as Yu began to press himself into the warmth that was far too tight for words.

"Yu-ah-slow please-" Yosuke could hardly process words as he gripped at the sheets, trying to remain calm during the intrusion.

"Sorry, you just…" Yu tried to keep himself from plunging to quickly into that tightness that was firmly clasping over all of him. It was hard to restrain himself, especially with how turned on he already was. "You're just so hot."

The words made Yosuke blush, and relax a little. He could feel all of the other inside of him, sitting completely still as they stared at each other.

"I-I what..?"

"You are."

Slowly withdrawing, Yu then began to move himself back into that tightness. It was taking a few minutes to build up to a steady rhythm to where they both felt comfortable.

It was as Yu hit that spot again, that left Yosuke moving his hands up, crawling onto that slightly tanned skin. His body arched, legs spreading completely as he felt that penetration becoming much rougher than the start.

"Yu-more-!"

Fingers dragged along the back of the man who was forcefully thrusting into the deepest parts of the auburn-haired man. The curiosity had shifted to nothing but complete carnal desire. Wanting to do nothing but feel more of one another. Yu was more than glad to fulfill the cries for more from his best friend who was writhing underneath of him now.

His hands moved, gripping onto those legs to let himself have more stability to make rougher thrusts. It was growing to the point of wanting to endlessly ravish the one who was staring at him through those brown eyes.

Their bodies were fully connecting, touching in the most perfect of ways as they were moaning, groaning, and breathing uneasily in the constant pleasure. It was becoming more intense, the thrusts becoming so forceful that their skin smacked against one another to join in the heavy atmosphere surrounding them.

"Yosuke-"

Yu had groaned out the name, gripping so tightly at those legs that it might bruise. It was clear from how their moans were joining together that they were both approaching that point.

"I'm _almost_-**Yu **I-"

Yosuke couldn't even formulate a sentence as he felt a hand grip onto his dick. It stroked over him, moving just as roughly as the thrusts that were being forced into him. Gasping out, his moans were turning to a low scream as he felt his body start to give way to a shudder.

"_Yosuke_, cum **now**."

Yu's command was spoken lowly, his hand gripping more onto the length in his hand. He pushed himself into that warmth once more, letting all of himself press deeply inside to hit that spot that made Yosuke cry out in pleasure, finally having that moment of ecstasy reached.

Their hands gripped onto one another, bodies shaking as Yu let all of his cum pour into his best friend. Yosuke trembled, feeling his own release happening in the same instance. His cum spurted from his dick, falling over the hand that had been stroking him to reach that point.

They both stared at each other, breathing completely uneven as they were falling from the high that had just occurred between them. Neither had expected any such events to occur, but it was nothing less than fulfilling. The one who had initiated the situation was already becoming turned on once again, just from how the man underneath of him was looking in that moment.

Darkened cheeks, lips parted from trying to catch his breath from what had just happened, and cum dripping out slightly from where he had withdrawn away from that warmth.

Yu could feel himself already growing hard again.

It was as Yosuke felt the hand withdraw away from holding onto him, that he heard the other speak.

"I want you again."

Yosuke blushed instantly, glancing down to see the other's erection starting to come to life again.

"Y-Yu are you serious-"

Yu leaned down, breathing out the words over those lips that were still red from their rough kissing.

"I'm always serious when it comes to you."

With his hands still lingering along Yu's back, Yosuke gripped slightly onto the skin while finding himself unable to hold back from giving into the dominating feeling being placed upon him.

"T-Then..let's do it again after school."

**And that was only the beginning.**


	3. Encounter 2

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 2 -_

* * *

It hadn't been easy going through class that afternoon.

Yosuke had been having the hardest time _walking_. It was hard enough having to act like he had sprained his ankle or something just to avoid the weird looks he was getting from his friends. Inwardly, Yu was smirking.

They were all heading for the exit of the school. A certain grey-eyed individual was waiting near the front doors. It was just as he almost approached him that he felt and heard his phone going off in his pocket.

Pulling it out, she saw his dad's name flash on the screen. Without hesitation he answered it.

"Hey dad what's up-"

Yosuke went silent for a few moments before his face fell a bit.

"Oh yeah okay, I'll head right over."

The call ended and he slipped his phone back into his pocket with a sigh.

"Work?"

"Yeah. Someone called out at the last minute so they need me to fill in."

"It can't be helped." Yu leaned in closer to the other's ear. Whispering lowly for only him to hear. "I'll just see you after you get off."

Blushing darkly, Yosuke quickly jumped back a bit.

"D-Dude don't do that here."

"Why not? It's not like anyone's around."

The hallways were completely empty by this point.

"Yeah but still, you know, someone could've been. Just, I don't want this getting weird."

"We haven't even discussed what _this_ is."

"I don't know man, I just need to go. I'll see you later."

Yosuke quickly made his retreat, feeling far too flustered as he headed to off the school grounds.

The entire evening passed by far too slowly for either of their liking. Everything at work was frustrating to the Junes Prince, and he found himself becoming more annoyed than usual. Mostly it was because of the unusual circumstances with himself and his best friend.

There was no describing it, the feeling he got from how they did _**those**_ things together. He was surprised to find himself enjoying it, and actually even more surprised to see how his thoughts were already reeling and thinking about doing it _again_.

But he didn't want it to get weird. It was true; they hadn't even discussed what it was. I mean, sure people had friends with benefits, but they were best friends. That was blurring the line a little **too** much.

As he shoved his apron into his messenger bag on the way out the door that evening, he shoved away all his thoughts with it. There would be time for those thoughts whenever he was done eating, showering, and watching his favorite TV show.

The familiar face lurking outside the building next door made him realize how none of that would be happening any time soon.

The second they were mere feet from one another, Yu had outstretched his hands, grabbing onto the other's arm to pull him close. Their lips met in a fierce kiss to which Yosuke was eagerly responding. All of his thoughts were thrown aside, the frustration from that day having been pent up for too long. He needed a release, and his best friend was here to give it to him.

All the questions of whatever had been developing between them were put on hold.

They could only manage to make it to a nearby alleyway before pants were being undone and skin was meeting skin once more.

* * *

The next morning, Yosuke was unbearably sore. He had sat on ice whenever he got home in some attempt to try and sooth the aches and pains. While he sat in homeroom, he could only hope that his body just had to get _used_ to the change.

"So did you want to go out tomorrow night?" Rise was lingering in their homeroom a few minutes before her and Kanji had to leave.

"I'll have to see if I'm needed at any of my clubs, but I'll let you know."

"All right, see you later." The girl waved just as she left with the other first-year.

Yosuke turned as best he could, trying not to make a face.

"So you're going out with Rise then?"

Grey eyes studied the figure in front of him carefully. "Well, it depends on if **we** do anything."

Going silent, Yosuke instantly lowered his voice. "There's nothing planned for us tomorrow night. It's not like we're dating or something."

"True."

"Besides, I don't want this getting weird man. I still like girls." He actually swallowed uneasily as he said that.

"So do I." Yu tilted his head a little as he couldn't help but see the other getting so worked up. "I'll go out with her then."

"Good. Rise's cool, you'll have a good time man."

The teacher appearing and the bell ringing ended any form of verbal communication.

That didn't stop them from texting though.

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_I'm guessing this is a friend's with benefits thing?_

**Text Message Received From: Yosuke Hanamura**

_I guess so._

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_Are you okay with that?_

Yosuke squirmed in his desk a bit as he was inwardly fighting himself on how to reply.

**Text Message Received From: Yosuke Hanamura**

_I dunno man, I mean, I trust you and all. So I guess it's fine. I just don't want it getting weird._

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_It won't. But…_

**Text Message Received From: Yosuke Hanamura**

_But what man?_

Yosuke felt nervous. His throat went dry as he was concerned with what his friend was going to reply with. The anxious feeling that maybe the other didn't like girls like he thought or something crazy was running through his mind. He still liked girls anyways, right? And it didn't matter if his friend didn't anymore, right? But he was going out with Rise tomorrow night, and he made it clear he liked girls.

Yeah.

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_I can't stop thinking about what we did last night._

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Yosuke could feel grey eyes staring at the back of his head. His hand clutched at his phone as he found himself stuck on how to reply. But his phone vibrating again made him stare down at the screen.

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_I had you press into the wall, fucking you in the alleyway, not caring if anyone saw. You were moaning so much._

A blush stained over fair-skin cheeks as he was trying not to breathe too loudly. He could already feel himself growing hard, and it was only getting worse at his phone vibrated again.

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

_I want you right now. I want to bend you over this desk and-_

Yosuke couldn't even read the rest of the text. He flipped his phone shut, sliding it in his pocket before raising his hand to be excused to the bathroom.

With his jacket hanging low enough to hide the very serious problem he now had, he retreated to the bathroom down the hall as quickly as possible. Little did he know, someone was hastily following after him.

As he entered the bathroom, he felt a presence directly behind of him. Just as he turned, his eyes saw a shade of grey and a hand that was closing and locking the bathroom door.

"Y-Yu."

"I told the teacher I was making sure you were _okay_ since you hadn't been feeling well this morning."

A skinny frame was backed up against a sink, staring up at the figure that was leaning against him.

"I can't, I'm too sore."

"I know. I just wanted to take care of the problem I seemed to have made for you."

Swallowing uneasily, Yosuke felt his pants being undone just as his throbbing erection was pulled out a few seconds later. The tip was brushed over, pre-cum coating the other's thumb as his fingers then began to stroke over it.

Yu leaned his head in, letting their foreheads touch as their lips remained centimeters away from touching. His eyes never moved from staring at brown ones that were showing a steady build in desire. Every stroke he made, more pre-cum was felt dripping at his fingers, and he only let his hand move more roughly to have Yosuke moan lowly.

His hips starting rocking into the feeling, hands gripping at the edge of the sink as he tried to keep himself from collapsing at the pleasure growing within him.

"Imagine me being inside of you right now, going as deep and as hard as I did last night."

Yosuke moaned roughly, his thoughts becoming far too real as he felt trapped in a gaze of grey. The desire was overwhelming, and the remembrance of the night before made him feel far too close to finishing already.

"And then I finish, letting you feel all of my cum moving inside of you. My hands would be covered with all of _your_ cum-"

The words became reality, and within seconds of whispering such secrets, Yosuke was trembling, letting himself release onto the hand that had been touching him.

His breathing was ragged as he tried to recover from what just happened again. Staring at his friend, they exchanged a dangerous gaze just as Yu moved to wash his hands. He silently left the bathroom, leaving his friend to clean himself up as well.

After fixing the lower part of his body, the lone figure was leaning down on the sink and staring at his reflection.

Friends with benefits? He wasn't sure how well that was going to go, especially with Rise getting involved now. The feeling was great, whatever it was that made them feel so amazing together.

The reality set in with every second that passed from the distraction of pleasure. It was hard to ignore, the sudden nagging in his subconscious. He should end it. The smart thing to go would be to end it. Half of him didn't want to though, but he knew it was for the best.

_**He would end it. Today.**_


	4. Encounter 3

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 3 -_

* * *

The entire afternoon had gone by in slow motion. The lectures had dragged on; along with the dread of what he knew he had to do.

They were both silent as the departed from the school grounds together. Feet easily leading them on the familiar path back to the Dojima residence. The walk felt far too short for the nervousness that was running through Yosuke.

Thankfully, Nanako was far too pre-occupied with her shows to talk to them very long. They walked upstairs, using the excuse of studying to avoid remaining downstairs. Once they were alone, Yu set his bag down and was staring at his friend.

It was clear that something was on his mind.

Yosuke gripped his hands into fists, trying to keep a steady gaze on the one that was already on him.

"We can't-I mean-I can't keep doing this. _We can't keep doing this._"

Swallowing the truth in his throat, he tried to explain himself without stuttering too much.

"It's going to get complicated, and you're going out with Rise now. I don't want our friendship getting fucked up man."

"Then let's do it one more time."

Yosuke blushed at the idea just as the other pressed on.

"It won't hurt, right?"

Feet were making a move forward and it seemed as if the question was answered for Yosuke.

Running his hands along skinny hips, he pulled the figure closely against him. His head tilted in, lips about to touch just as a whisper was said before all thoughts ceased.

"This is the last time."

Yosuke already found himself becoming lost in the haze that was Narukami Yu.

Their tongues met almost instantly, hips rubbing with a familiar touch. It was insane to think that they had only discovered his mutual attraction not even two days ago.

But it was the last time. They had to end it. Too many things were going to make it more complicated, and they both valued the deep bond they had with one another. The instinctive passion began to seep into their movements, and clothes were being shed in between the never-ending meeting of their mouths.

Yu laid the other back onto his bed for the first and last time. A kiss that was far too passionate to just be a carnal desire initiated and their boxers were the only remaining barrier.

Yosuke was practically broken, breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed as he had been teased far too much. He could feel hands running down his sides, moving at his hips to tug down the cloth holding back his erection.

A kiss was brushed at his neck, slowly traveling up the side of his face until it met his lips once again. The feeling of fingers intruding into him made him gasp in the kiss, his body finally having started to adjust to the mannerisms that went along with their activities.

The tightness was as rough as the first time he had ever felt him. Yu had already been holding himself back all day, and now it was going to be impossible to do so. He wanted to relish every moment though, to have every inch of himself joining with the other. It was the last time they would be allowed to do such a thing.

The movements were gentle but rough. Fingers hitting that spot and making Yosuke moan in that way that signaled to him that he was ready to feel more. And he was given much more, over and over. Finally letting their bodies join together, Yu pushed roughly into that tightness. From the first thrust, he was gripping at those hips, moaning lowly as he never moved his gaze off the one underneath of him.

Yosuke ran his legs up, letting them wrap around the figure that was thrusting to the deepest part of himself already. It made him moan far too loudly, and staring at grey eyes, he could sense the passion becoming almost overwhelming. Their lips met, melding together just as their bodies already were.

The moans were soft as they kissed, all of Yu pushing into that warmth that only grew hotter as the thrusts became faster. Fingers traced down at the back where muscles were constricting from such roughness. Dragging his nails down, gripping onto the one that was making him _feel_ far too many things, Yosuke lost himself completely.

"Yu-please-I can't-"

The words had barely been audible in their heated kiss. Yu had managed to whisper out a response as he could feel the body trembling beneath him.

"_**Now**_."

The pleasure reached its peak and they went tumbling over the edge together. Their bodies remained intertwined as Yosuke felt his cum spurting on his stomach, and onto the one who was still thrusting into him. The rush that Yu felt as his own cum began to release deeply into that warmth made him groan, kissing onto his friend's lips with a desire that was almost insatiable.

They remained caught up in one another for a while. When Yosuke finally made the first move to leave, he went to clean himself up before gathering up his things. It was already growing dark outside, and he had to do some homework and chores once he got home.

Yu leaned against the doorway as they stood at the front door. The figure out on the doorstep looked uneasy as he clutched at his bag.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see you."

"I'll give you a pep talk before your date with Rise."

Smiling slightly, Yu nodded while leaning his arm up from the doorframe. "Sure thing."

Turning a little awkwardly, brown eyes tried their best to give off the impression of normalcy. "Right, see you later man."

Yosuke waited until he was completely out of sight from grey eyes to slap both his hands over his face.

_What had he done?_

The instant he had left that room, he felt the hugest wave of regret.

So what if things got weird? It was clearly something they both wanted to do. Yosuke couldn't shake that it was with his best friend, but part of him was arguing-what was really wrong with it?

They had a solid friendship, everything was built to the highest point, especially that of trust. They were clearly more than comfortable with one another since they had…well done things. **Repeatedly.**

So why in the hell had he pushed the idea away?

His reasoning for doing it wasn't making sense anymore. If it was just a way to release frustration then fine, there shouldn't be anything wrong with it. It's not like he was going to end up having feelings for the guy.

_Right?_

Yosuke sat in his bed not even an hour later. His fingers itched to reach for his cell phone, to just hit that one number that he already had saved on his speed dial. It was so wrong, but it all felt so _right_. Insanely ironic, but he just couldn't fight the **want** of his best friend.

Hands shaking, he reached for the phone, hitting the number '1'. The phone didn't even ring once before a voice was heard on the other end, breathing lowly.

"I don't-_I don't want this to end_."

"Neither do I."

Hearing the reply would've made him cry, but he kept himself calm. His hands were still trembling as he pressed his cell phone roughly against his ear.

"I don't know what it is, but I guess it's okay as long as we both want it."

"I agree."

Just the sound of his voice was soothing to his nerves.

"Right, well I'll see you tomorrow then."

The smile that was on Yu's face could be felt just through his reply.

"See you tomorrow Yosuke."


	5. Encounter 4

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 4 -_

* * *

"So where are you guys going tonight?"

The awkwardness of Yosuke's sudden decision to call off their little meetings had worn off as soon as they saw one another the next morning. It was also more so how Yu had grabbed him into a rough kiss the moment they were close enough and far away from prying eyes. That had definitely cemented the relief in the other's mind and made him glad that he had changed his mind. Though, he still couldn't figure out _why_ he suddenly felt so desperate for it to continue. Must have just been the hormones.

"She wanted to go to a newer restaurant called Kabukka."

Yosuke blinked as he repeatedly said the word to himself over and over again. It was a strange word.

"Sounds foreign. Ah well, it's probably high maintenance knowing Rise, so you better suit up man."

"I know." Yu's face fell a bit as he was already picturing a high dollar meal that he'd have to pay for. "What are you going to do tonight?"

Normally they would've hung out after school assuming there wasn't some crisis occurring. That left Yosuke floating in the realm of boredom and the nagging subconscious feeling of _**not**_ being okay with his best friend/person he was sleeping with going out with someone else, more specifically Rise who always clearly had a thing for the guy-but still having to act like he _was_ okay with it.

**Yeah.**

"Dude I guess I'll just be lazy, play some games, watch some TV. Who knows."

Yu leaned his head on his hand as he stared at his friend intently. All of his mannerisms were taken in, and it was clear that he wasn't completely calm about what was going to happen tonight.

"I can always cancel if you want me to."

"We already talked about this yesterday. Partner, just, _please_ go out with her." Yosuke was looking at him almost pleadingly as he kept his voice low.

Keeping his face as blank as ever, Yu simply nodded and anymore discussion on the matter ceased.

The day went by smoothly. Both teens managed to keep their hands to themselves and to keep any implications from arising as they had the day before. Before either of them knew it, the final bell rung, and Yu was parting from the other to head home and get ready for his date.

Yosuke could already hear the slight amount of gossip at how his friend was going out with the idol formerly known as Risette. He tried to ignore the whispers, but they only grew worse as more girls walked by. Even the guys were on about it, muttering how he'd probably score with her on the first date if he was lucky and how lucky he was to even get to go out with her to begin with.

The thought of his best friend doing something like that with the model made him feel his stomach suddenly drop. A nervousness quelled within him, and he couldn't stop thinking of how gorgeous she was, how much Yu probably **would** do something with her if he was given the opportunity. Hell, any guy in his right mind would be stupid if they didn't take the chance.

He said he was okay with them going out; but, would it really hurt to just check up on them?

Pulling out his cell, he hit number two on his speed dial.

"Hey Chie, listen, are you busy tonight?"

"Depends. What are you wanting to do?"

"Well, there's this new restaurant. They have steak?"

"I'll meet you at your place at 7."

Yosuke was pacing, his hands sweaty, biting at his lower lip as he was waiting for his friend to arrive. He wanted to text the one that he was almost obsessively mulling over, but it probably would've come off as a bit strange if he did so, especially after he had been so insistent on him going out on a date in the first place.

His sigh from the stress turned to relief as he heard a knock on the door. Quick to open it, he wasted no time in locking the door behind him as he saw Chie.

"This isn't like, a **real** date right?"

Actually stopping for a second to stare at her with a blank look, she was looking back at him a little incredulously.

"Are you serious? This is about steak and _that's it_."

"Good. I wouldn't want to have to kick your ass if you tried to make a move on me or something."

Rolling his eyes, he shoved his hands into his pockets just as they wondered down the street to the path that led to the shopping district.

"But anyways, I heard that Narukami-kun is going out with Rise tonight."

Yosuke mentally slapped himself. "Yeah he is."

"About time. She's liked him for a while, and she was flirting with him way more than usual lately."

If Chie could pick up on a heavy flirting, then Yosuke knew he was in trouble.

"Oh well, did you know they're opening up a new beef bowl place in town?"

The change of subject was quickly welcomed and the other eagerly responded. No more talk was made about their leader and the model, but as soon as the restaurant came into view, Yosuke could already feel the nervousness clench in his stomach.

They wondered in, Yosuke felt a little out of place just wearing a white button-up and his black pants that were a little more than casual but didn't constitute as dressy. Chie had done a little better with skirt that was slightly flowy and a plain blouse that was could pass as a nice outfit.

He tried to keep a low profile as they were seated rather quickly, especially once the desk worker had recognized Yosuke as heir of Junes. The waiter took their drink orders before hurrying off to retrieve them as they were left to pour over the menu.

But it was Yosuke looked up from his menu for a moment that another waiter that had been serving a table moved and he saw a mass of grey hair that was easily recognized. The object of his thoughts was sitting across the room, granted it was quite far, but he could still see him seated at a table with the brunette directly in front of him.

They looked like they were having a good time, and he felt his stomach clench even worse than before and felt the sudden need to look elsewhere. Staring at the words on the menu, everything was all too confusing. It was Chie's sudden questioning to him on what to get that he snapped out his thoughts if only for a moment.

"Do you think I should get the 12 oz. or just two of the 7 oz. steaks?"

"Oh uh well how hungry are you?"

"Well I didn't eat much for lunch today."

"You usually eat two of everything, so just do the two 7 ounce ones."

Seeming satisfied with the answer, Chie closed her menu and leaned back into her seat as she began to scan the room. The auburn-haired man was gripping at his knee, trying not to glance over at the scene through the myriad of people. But every time he saw his best friend smiling and looking as if he was enjoying every moment of their date, he found the temptation to reach for his phone growing.

He'd never admit he was jealous. But with how quickly his fingers were moving over the letters on his cell phone, he found himself questioning the underlying feelings within. The need to prove that their date wasn't _really _real, that it was all just a veil to cover the truth, it was all driving him to press the send button for the message he just wrote.

The phone signaled that the message had been sent just as he glanced up to see their waiter re-appear. He took their orders quickly, disappearing moments later once again. Chie was visibly occupied people surfing but quickly got distracted as she received a text from someone, the way her face lit it, it was probably Yukiko.

Yosuke sighed uneasily, feeling his hands tremble whenever he felt his phone vibrate suddenly.

His hands hit the open button on the message, reading the words that had been responded to his previous message.

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

**_It's going good. What are you doing?_**

**It was going good. That had already been clear enough to Yosuke from how the other was smiling and even laughing on occasion. He knew Rise was fun, but he never thought she was that fucking ****humorous. It was clear his jealousy was kicking in, and it only spurned him forward into more chaos as he typed another message out in reply.**

**Text Message Received From: Yosuke Hanamura**

**_Oh not a lot, just hanging out with Chie._**

**The reply was sent almost as quickly as he had typed it. Peering over at the other occupant of the table, it was clear she was caught up in whatever long conversation she was typing out to the raven-haired girl. As he was about to take a sip of his water, his hand froze and reached back down to open a new reply.**

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

**_With Chie? Make sure you behave._**

**Make sure you behave? The hell was that supposed to mean. It should have been the other way around. The conflicting ideas in Yosuke's mind made him feel an even further surge of jealousy. His eyes glanced over again, seeing the suited figure of Yu leaving the table and heading towards the back of the restaurant.**

**Yosuke couldn't stop himself from following.**

**"****I'll be right back."**

**Chie simply waved him off as she already knew he was heading to the bathroom. It was never a good thing for him to hold it for too long, she had gathered that from their first experience in the TV world.**

**Having his excuse in hand, the young man slipped away from the table, carefully passing by people and tables as he did his best to remain hidden from the sight of the other that had just disappeared into a hallway.**

**Entering the hallway himself, the corridor was quite long. The bathrooms were directly at the end of the hall, and as soon as he reached the correct door he found himself not even hesitating to push open the door.**

**The lighting was low and the bathroom was quite huge. As he slipped inside, he could see the**** back of the one in question as he was washing his hands at the other end of the area. Steadily walking forward, he could see the figure grab a few paper towels, drying off his hands before throwing them away. It was just as he turned that he came face to face with the one he had been waiting a reply for on his phone.**

**"****Yosuke what are you-"**

**He ran his hands up, placing them on the taller figure's shoulders just as a sudden kiss was placed upon the grey-haired teen's lips. Startled but not avoiding the contact by any means, Yu let his hands run forward, moving around the lithe body as he kissed back slowly, letting their lips linger together.**

**A hand that had been positioned on a shoulder moved, shifting down to grip at the other's forearm to drag him back into a nearby stall. The door was shut and locked just as the grey eyes watched in utter curiosity. He felt himself being pushed back against the wall of the stall, the other kneeling down slowly.**

**"****Couldn't wait until**** I got home?"**

**Brown eyes glanced up, showing nothing but a hint of desire and the way fair-skinned hands were undoing the pants of the suit that fitted so nicely on his frame, they were running over his hips and revealing the apparent erection almost possessively.**

**Yu felt a strange twinge of excitement, from a mix of doing such a thing in public again and having the underlying feeling that his best friend was making a claim on him no matter how slight it might've been.**

**Yosuke wasted no time. He wanted to prove his point, to show that only ****_he_**** could provide this unique feeling of pleasure to him. His mouth moving forward, he took every inch of the hardened dick into his mouth, letting his tongue lick at the tip as he withdrew away slowly.**

**The sight below him was already more than enough to get him off, not to mention it only made him want to bend the other over and have his way with him. But it was clear that this was meant to be a one-sided interaction. Yu exhaled uneasily, feeling that warm mouth starting to move over all himself in a steady rhythm. It made him push his hips forward, feeling hands gripping at his hips as if to encourage him to lose himself in the moment.**

**To say that he was acting completely off-point would be an understatement. Yosuke wasn't sure what had come over him though, no wait he did know. Jealousy****.**

**He hated thinking of how the model's hands could have been on his best friend's body in such an intimate way or how her lips might've been pressing kisses on his lips and elsewhere. As much as he wanted to try to convince himself that this date hadn't had any effect on him, it clearly had an ****_immense_**** effect on him.**

**It had led him to drag the one had formed an unknown connection with into the bathroom stall and now he was in the process of sucking him off.**

**Yosuke could feel how his mouth was sucking harder, knowing that such a feeling had to be more than pleasing to the other. The way his hips were bucking forward, only forcing his entire dick inside at a rougher pace answered such a question. The low groans and muttering obscenities about how fucking good it felt made Yosuke more than pleased that he had gone through with the impulsive idea.**

**A hand gripped into a mass of auburn locks. Yu leaned his head back against the stall, letting himself start to give into that building intensity within the lower part of his body. As he moaned the name of the very person who was sucking onto him, he felt his body being overcome with that sheer moment of pleasure.**

**"****_Yosuke_**** I'm going to-"**

**The desire was sealed as Yosuke felt the every inch of the hardness that had been passing between his lips starting to pulsate. The taste of cum filled his mouth, and his mouth closed around the tip and mid-way along the other's dick. His tongue swirled over the tip, letting every bit of cum that was possible be swallowed.**

**Feeling beyond satisfied with how things went, Yosuke leaned back, letting himself stand up as he watched his best friend stare at him through an intense-shade of grey.**

**Yu was still positioned against the stall, and he slowly started to regain his composure as he began to fix the lower part of himself. When he finished doing so, he left himself press closer to the other, his lips brimming dangerously close but halting from kissing him.**

**"****We'll talk about this later. Though, I already have a pretty good idea of what is going on." Almost sounding all-knowing in that instance, Yu then withdrew, opening the door and heading to the exit moments later.**

**The moment of closeness had been more than a tease to Yosuke, but he knew, he already knew that all of his own desires would be taken care of later. After all, they were already half-way through their dinners.**

**With a more than satisfied smirk, Yosuke let himself return to Chie who was**** now already devouring a steak. A vibration on his leg made him pull out his phone and only smirk even more at the words on the screen.**

**Text Message Received From: Narukami Yu**

**_You're staying over tonight._**

**Yosuke was already sending a text to his dad before starting to enjoy the dinner that he had ordered.**

**It was going to be a long night.**


	6. Encounter 5

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 5 -_

* * *

The evening had been intense to say the least. Yosuke had dealt with the newness of an emotion that he had rarely ever felt. The concept was so new to him, and it was only as he had ended up cornering his best friend in the bathroom to do some very intimate things that he realized what the feeling truly was.

He'd walked his friend home after they finished dinner; the night was growing closer to a later hour, only just now reaching around ten that evening. It was as he turned on his heel and started heading back through the various streets of the neighborhood that he felt his phone vibrate.

_Come over._

A grin tugged at his lips and as soon as he shoved his phone back in his pocket, he slid on his headphones and was practically running through the streets in the right direction. His hand had shuffled through the songs on his ipod, finding the right one that rang true to his mood in that moment.

Tonight was going to be anything but innocent.

_It's only just a crush it'll go away._

_It's just like all the others, it'll go away._

The dislike for that girl, even though she was his friend too, the way she always clung onto his arm. The way she made him laugh or smile, that was supposed to be something that only he did. It wasn't right, the feeling of such a vindictive-nature coursing through his veins. The dire need to just do something to prove his point. He'd already done it once, but he felt that urge to do even worse than before.

_Or maybe this is danger and you just don't know._

_You pray it all away but it continues to grow._

The house came into view, the familiarity of it almost glowing in the darkness of the night. His footsteps approached the door fast, and he hadn't even made it to knock when the door was swung open. Grey eyes stared at him as soon as they were visible, and neither said a word to one another.

Letting his body practically fall against the others, Yosuke gripped at the sides of the dark button-up that was still hanging nonchalantly on the well-built frame in front of him. Their mouths met, lips pressing apart to let tongues taste one another with an eagerness that was unreal. They were moving against one another almost frantically, desperately trying to work their way upstairs in the empty household.

The void of silence was broken by a scuffling of feet and a door slamming shut. Their figures hardly managed to reach the small couch near the door. Haphazardly falling atop the cushions, Yosuke was already practically ripping through the buttons of the button-up on the other's chest. Hands were fumbling to hastily tug off pants, throw aside shirts, and grasp at some portion of each other's face in order to re-initiate harsh kisses.

"Did you kiss her?"

Yosuke uttered in a low, rough manner that was uncommon for his usual tone of voice. He stared intently into grey eyes as he started shifting to sit on the other's lap properly.

"She kissed me."

With a glance away for a moment, the reply made Yosuke become lost in thought for only a moment. The soft remembrance of the tune that had been ringing through his ears on his way here began to dare him into his possessive thoughts.

"I didn't kiss her back though."

As if that was to provide some sort of comfort to the other, all Yu could do was stare as the tension that had been growing began to underline more so on the sexual side. It was clear that the date had affected the other negatively, regardless of how he had insisted on him going out on it. The main reason he had called him over was to sort it out, but it seemed as if that conversation was going to be put on hold until the other had calmed down.

Or more so, got what he wanted.

Yosuke sat up, leaning off the couch to let his already unfastened pants fall off his body. He pushed off his boxers, revealing his already present erection. That intense gaze remained on him, taking in all of him just as fair-skinned hands reached down to tug at his boxers that were viewable through the unzipped dress pants.

"I hate…"

The words disappeared in the sudden movement of how he was situating himself on top of the other's lap. His hands grasped at the hardness that was clearly fully erect. As he shifted his hips to the accurate position, he slowly let himself push down onto that hardness. Biting his lower lip, he couldn't restrain a groan as he felt how every inch pushed up into him so roughly.

Yu was lost, his hands managing to reach out and grip onto the soft-skinned hips in order to keep him steady. The carnal feeling from how they were doing this skin-to-skin with no preparation made him feel a sudden ache to just fuck him senseless. Nothing was casual or nice between them in that moment. It was real, and every interaction they had made it become even realer and truer than before.

Shifting up slowly after feeling a little more comfortable, Yosuke gasped uneasily as he tried to talk while building up a gradual rhythm in his movements. His brown eyes remained fixated on the pair that had been staring at him the entire time with a lustful gaze.

"I hate…how she wants you."

The words made him want to ask, but he knew that if he spoke her name right now that it would completely shatter the mood between them. And god was the mood far too fucking too right now to ruin.

Yosuke felt those hands that were on his hips grip tightly, the roughness that was felt within him starting to thrust up even further, making him moan in surprise as he realized how hips were now pushing up against him. He couldn't help but to let his thoughts be voiced, no matter how much he would probably hate himself later for doing so. But the way they were so open and comfortable with each other in these moments, it made him want to do and say anything and everything to him.

They were best friends, but right now they were just completely enraptured in how it felt to feel that friction, hear those breathy moans, and say each other's name.

The brunette was neither thought nor talked about from that point forward, and Yosuke was more than grateful. The entire idea was for his best friend to be so caught up in what he was doing to him, that he wouldn't even be able to comprehend a single thing.

_I want to hold you close  
Skin pressed against me tight  
Lie still, and close your eyes girl  
So lovely, it feels so right_

"What do you _**do**_ to me?" The words breathed a life of their own as Yu could feel the way their bodies were melding together, the pleasure becoming so intense that their rhythm increased to a fast pace.

Yosuke had no answer.

All he could do was revel in the moment they had going for them. The feeling that they gave to one another was something only they could perceive as something too amazing and far too delicious to ignore. It was almost becoming like an addiction.

_I want to hold you close  
Soft breath, beating heart  
As I whisper in your ear  
I want to fucking tear you apart_

Their bodies smacked against one another, the air in the room heated as their moans only amplified the amount of sex that had already entered the atmosphere. Bodies shuddered, trembling almost as breaths became hitched, and as a final thrust was made, both were unable to hold back the names that they said during their pinnacle moment.

Yosuke slouched forward as his head lay against a shoulder, his cum still releasing from the tip of his dick, spurting along his chest and down to his stomach. The last thrust made within him was made deep, and he could feel every pulsating sensation as the other's cum was being released inside of him.

Both of their chests were moving quickly, hearts racing, breaths coming uneasily as they were calming from their interaction. Yu kept his hands on the other, not wanting to move an inch from how they were.

"You were jealous weren't you?"

Yosuke heard the question, but he didn't want to answer it. He knew the truth, and he also knew that his best friend knew the truth. But his pride wouldn't allow him to admit to it.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does."

"We had an agreement. This is just…it's not anything serious."

Yu just stared into brown eyes in a way that said 'I don't believe you'. There was clearly something developing between them, especially since he had gotten all territorial over a simple date. But, the thought of having to place a name to those feelings yet scared him. All of this had been sudden, and he wasn't even sure if that's what it was.

So, once again, he pushed it all away.

"If you say so."

Their embrace ended. Bodies unraveling, the truth in the room settling back to the normalcy of a mask being worn in the interactions of their friendship. It was only as Yosuke laid in bed later that night, only seeing the back of his best friend, that he felt like he had said so many wrong things again that night.

He had to find a grip on things, and fast.


	7. Encounter 6

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 6 -_

* * *

_We've done a bad thing,_  
_We mustn't tell a soul_  
_The lines have all been crossed, until they all blur_  
_Wrestle with your conscience,_  
_At least pretend for her._

_The sound of an alarm resonating in the darkly lit room the next morning awoke the two that had been asleep. It came to a great shock to one of the two whenever they woke up to find an arm slung around his shoulders to keep him close as he was practically snuggling into a muscled chest._

_A blush that hadn't been on his cheeks since the day before began to make its appearance again, and Yosuke found himself nervously wanting to withdraw but still wanting to remain in that position at the same time. With his heart beating uneasily, he __decided that the alarm needed to be cut off but within a few seconds it stopped on its own._

_Grey eyes were finally starting to open to the world on that new day, and just as they did the rest of that person's mind began to function. The arm that had been moved around the other figure remained. He looked down to see the one who was his best friend and whatever else laying on him with that blush that made him cute in his eyes._

_If it's really such a bad thing,_  
_Then why does it feel so right?_  
_We never touch more than we're not supposed to_  
_Pull your body closer,_  
_Let's kiss and say goodnight_  
_And in the morning, I'm still gonna want you_

_"__Good morning__. Couldn't keep away from me even in your dreams?"_

_Yosuke couldn't stop blushing at the teasing he was already receiving so early in the morning._

_"__Shut up. I just got cold I guess."_

_"__Mhm. Get cold often? Cause this has happened…" Yu noticed what he was about to say and he quickly changed the subject. "We should get dressed or we'll be late."_

_The other dully noticed the way that sentence had trailed off, but he decided not to pursue it since they couldn't afford to be late. That didn't mean he wasn't going to remember to ask about it again later._

The day dragged on far too long. It only seemed longer since Yosuke had been practically abandoned by his best friend in order to go have lunch with a charmingly persistent Rise. Of course, he had to appear fine with it anyways since he was so adamant that he _wanted_ him to date her.

His subconscious kept insisting otherwise with that little prick at the bottom of his heart strings, but he kept ignoring it. Handling those kind of feelings didn't seem to be his strong point, and he hadn't felt anything remotely close to that since..he didn't want to remember that now.

The final bell rang and Yosuke was sliding out of his desk in the usual manner. He hadn't even remembered how his best friend was behind him, and usually would walk with him off the school grounds. His back remained a few steps ahead of the other, bag hitting his leg slightly as he walked along. With a sigh, he was trying to get ahold of the thoughts that had been swirling in his head all day as a distraction from class.

The phone buzzing in his pocket told him that he had a message and he looked at it. Seemed as if his night was going to be devoted to just him thinking since he just got called into work.

"No surprise there. I'd get called in on a Friday." Sighing, he put his phone away. It would've been nice to just go home and do something more enjoyable to distract himself. He had assumed his friend would probably be hanging out with Rise again more often now, especially after school.

"Going to work then?"

Yosuke jumped a good foot off the ground in surprise.

Stopping and looking back, he saw the one he had been thinking of all day trailing behind him.

"Y-You fucking scared me, have you been there the whole time man?"

"Well yeah, we do walk home together."

With a silent look, Yosuke wasn't sure how to respond at first, especially since his heart was still beating in a weird way from being so surprised.

"I just thought you'd be going somewhere with Rise."

"She had some plans with the girls. You know I would tell you if I was going somewhere anyways. I wouldn't just leave you without notice."

Laughing nervously to try and shake off the strange feeling growing in him, the prince of the very place that he was heading to felt very stupid now.

"I guess you would. Well uh, I have to go to work so."

"Need some extra help? Aren't Fridays busier since you get another shipment in?"

The fact that he remembered something so simple made Yosuke smile out of gratitude. No one was this thoughtful aside from him. It made that prickling feeling intensify.

"Well yeah, but I don't wanna ruin your Friday night with work."

"I was just planning on being with you anyways."

Yosuke laughed off his nervousness and they started to head to the shopping district together. The walk seemed too short, probably because he hadn't had time to spend with the other that day with school, the lack of having lunch together, and now work forcing its way into the mix.

They headed to the staff room, setting aside their bags, taking off their jackets and slipping on their aprons before going to the receiving area. Plenty of shipment was there just waiting to be unpacked and put onto the shelves.

"So uh, how are things with Rise?"

"They're good."

Yosuke felt his throat go dry as he felt like he was asking forbidden questions. In a way he was since he was fighting against the harsh reality of things between them along with the strange concept of his best friend dating someone else. The whole _friends with benefits_ thing was a great release, but he could tell it was starting to fuck with his own mind in a way. The whole possessive thing wasn't in his usual mood setting, but it had kicked in that night at the restaurant.

"She said she wanted to go out again this weekend."

"Dude that's great. Make sure you go prepared."

"Prepared for..?"

He wasn't even sure where the words were coming from. Yosuke broke down a few boxes and tossed them aside while trying to figure out what to say in return.

"Well Rise seems to really like you. You know she might put out cause it's you."

Everyone knew how freaking cool Yu was. And it was already more than evident that Rise was more than infatuated with the guy. So it was only a matter of time that she made a move on him, especially since she was just overly flirty to begin with.

"I started thinking the same thing after our first date."

"Why's that?"

Yosuke suddenly felt his palms become wet from nervousness. He could recall how they appeared to be having such a great time together, so much so that it worried him that it could almost reach the same level of enjoyment that only the two of them had on a daily basis.

"She kept rubbing her foot on my leg, and touching my hand at times. Then we kissed like I told you before."

They both had a split second of remembering the night before and Yosuke could feel his cheeks become warm from embarrassment. He looked down at the boxes, trying to calm his emotions from running rampant. They were shifting from an unknown jealousy to being embarrassed from how forward he had been with his best friend last night.

"Yeah you better be prepared then man."

Yosuke felt like he needed a moment to himself so he quickly started loading some things into a nearby cart and was heading out of the receiving area and onto the main floor.

"I'm going to put this stuff out. Be right back."

Yu nodded and resumed his work just as the other disappeared out of the area.

Sighing heavily, the sound of the cart was heard along with the low sound of the June's theme constantly playing in the speakers overhead. He moved down an aisle, starting to unload some packs of bed sheets and placing them in the appropriate areas on the shelf.

"Excuse me, do you work here-oh yeah you do."

Yosuke looked to the right, seeing a guy who was probably around his age, maybe a year or two older. He was clothed in black, but looking rather good-looking (he couldn't believe he admitted to that) with his contrasting blue eyes and black hair that was styled and fell right above his shoulders.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'm trying to find this item."

The guy held up a sales paper for that day, pointing to an item on the front.

"Ah that, we sold out of that earlier today."

"Damn." The guy muttered lowly, smiling with a shrug. "Oh well, guess I was just meant to find something better."

"Probably."

Yosuke couldn't help but to smile back at the guy, he also couldn't help but to feel a strange nervousness again and it only grew when the guy took a step closer.

"Maybe I was just meant to find you?"

"To find me?"

Feeling a little slow all of the sudden, Yosuke was backed up against the cart slightly at the guy leaned his head in closer.

"You're cute. Do you swing that way per chance?"

Yosuke opened his mouth to reply but he his mouth went so dry that nothing came out but a small squeak. He felt a hand move onto his cheek, almost caressing and it made him blush but strangely not mind the touch either. In all the times that he had been doing things with his best friend, they'd never done such simple touches with one another. Everything was usually rough, to the point, and filling but still always left a longing feeling for something else.

"I ah-"

"Yosuke?"

A very familiar voice boomed through the area and both individuals in the aisle turned to see another standing at the other end.

"Yu-I ah-was just helping this guy out-"

The stranger smirked a little, withdrawing as he waved at Yosuke slightly before turning to leave.

"If I'm lucky, I'll see you around."

Yosuke could only stare at the guy as he left the aisle before disappearing from his sight. The feeling of a presence beside of him made him look back to his right to see Yu looking at him with a strange look in his eyes.

"Do you finish the rest of-"

"What was that?"

The question was asked in a curious yet underlying serious tone.

"Just customer service." Yosuke rubbed the back of his head as he let out a nervous laugh.

"I bet it was."

"Yu man-what the hell?"

The other was already starting to pull away, but Yosuke reached out to grab onto his arm by means to stop him. Just as Yosuke was about to say something else and much more loudly, the one he was holding onto turned and stopped such a thing from happening.

Yu leaned his head forward, pressing a harsh kiss to a mouth that was already half-way open. The surprise had been clear in brown eyes, but it was washed away as soon as he started to return the kiss. A hand ran onto the same cheek that a stranger's had been mere minutes before. The fingers traced, caressing, and the lips that were pressing onto his felt like they were moving in such a dangerous way that it was almost borderline possessive.

Yosuke took notice. He felt every bit of emotion being transferred through the kiss, and the uneasy beating of his heart made him understand that what he was feeling was more than just a physical attraction.

Whether that would make things better or worse was yet to be decided, because they were both far too caught up in pressing closer in that desolate aisle in the middle of Junes.


	8. Encounter 7

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 7 -_

* * *

An entire week had gone by since the Junes incident.

Everything had been flowing relatively smoothly aside from the awkward feeling of jealousy that still would slowly erupt inside of Yosuke at the sight of the model and his best friend together. It only grew so bad as to reach the point of a mere thought making his face contort to a look of anything but happy.

There was no explanation in his mind yet as to why the feeling kept crippling over him. He'd always spend his moments alone (more so the times whenever his friend was out on a date with her) inwardly listing the pros and cons of everything that was going on between them.

Basically the pros consisted of the great sex, the great connection, and the great friendship.

The cons were the jealousy that had an unknown source and the weird label of making out and sleeping with your best friend on occasion when just a mere month ago they had been more concerned with girls and boobs.

It was also more of his stubbornness on refusing to acknowledge the fact that he might actually be at least bisexual. Though he wasn't even sure if that was the proper term for it since he didn't necessarily find guys in general to be attractive. It was just Yu.

He had no label for that, so he just kept shrugging off the thoughts and lingering back towards how he suddenly just wanted to kiss him again.

Sighing, he fell back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a longer night than usual.

Date night number five for the two was taking place, and Yosuke had been trying to distract himself from his thoughts and whatever else by doing anything and everything that he could. He'd even cleaned his entire room, which was something he _never_ did.

The time on his phone read almost nine. No messages or calls. **Nothing**.

Shifting up in his bed, he decided to get out of the house before he was driven to the point of insanity.

He'd already been dressed still, so he simply grabbed a few things, shoved them into a bag and headed out the door. He was surprised to find himself actually wanting to go to Junes to do something, anything to keep himself busy and kill more time. Stacking boxes and unloading shipment wasn't his ideal way of spending a night off, but he couldn't keep thinking about how things between _those_ two might end up going further with how often they were dating now.

Yosuke slipped in a pair of ear buds in place of his headphones (it was hard to work properly since they would hit things occasionally). He wasn't _really _supposed to be working tonight; he doubted that his dad would mind him at least listening to some music.

Throwing his bag into the staff room, he had slipped on his apron and was flipping through his i-pod before shoving it into his pocket and wondering into the stock room. There were some boxes that were ready to be put out, so he piled a few onto a cart before pushing it out onto the salesfloor.

Junes was a little busier than usual for a Thursday night. It usually didn't really start picking up like this until the weekend. The array of people hardly distracted him though as he headed down into the personal care area of the department store. As he pushed the cart further past more aisles, he glanced at them as he passed to make sure he wasn't passing the one he needed to go to.

When he passed by one aisle in particular, he did a double-take, but he didn't stop moving forward. In fact, he almost ran forward, pushing the cart harder as he stopped a few aisles away at the one he was intending to go to.

Swallowing uneasily, he started grabbing a few boxes, going to the designated area as he was trying to focus on the music that was almost blaring in his ears now.

As he pretty much just dropped the boxes onto the empty area, he tried to get the sudden sight out of his mind and the jumping to conclusions out of his thoughts.

It was hard not to do all of that and more though when he had just seen his best friend/guy he was fucking in the aisle where nothing but condoms were located and he was holding onto a box.

So many implications came with that sight, and he already knew what the true answer was. They never used any sort of protection when they did it. They had both been clean, and they both trusted one another with that fact. But the fact now changing to his friend possibly actually really sleeping with the model made him feel a sudden crash of major dislike and disbelief.

He headed back over to the cart almost numbly, debating on whether to even bother staying here since he couldn't even think properly much less would it be safe for him to be handling any sort of heavy equipment. Picking up a few more boxes, he was fighting with himself to stalk over to the aisle and confront the silverette. The last thing he needed to do was cause a scene over something like this, especially in the middle of Junes where prying eyes could see.

Yosuke went to push the boxes on top of the others, but as he did he felt the weight shift more than he expected and felt them starting to push back onto his lithe body. As he stumbled back a little, he was so caught in his thoughts that he didn't notice how more of the stack was tumbling now too.

"Woah-hey-!"

A muffled voice was vaguely heard through his loud music. A hand moved onto his hand, a strong presence behind of him as another hand was reaching out to push the boxes back to a standing point.

Yosuke snapped back into reality a little, half-expecting to see a certain someone behind him. As he pulled his ear buds out and turned, he met a pair of blue eyes that he had seen once before and not a pair of grey ones.

"Are you all right? You were about to be squished."

"Oh yeah, I'm fine."

Yosuke realized that it was the same guy from a week before. His heart race quickened slightly and he wasn't sure why.

"Oh well, it looks like those boxes brought me some good luck since I found you again."

Now he remembered why, it was because he was a smooth talker and it had made his best friend _jealous_ at the sight.

"Yeah you found me again."

"Are you okay…? Like really, I mean, you just look really fucking out of it." The guy leaned in to wave a hand in front of the brunette's face as if to further emphasize that point.

Subtly wasn't the guy's strong point, though, Yosuke was already fond of that, even if more obscenities than usual came along with it.

"I'm…well no I'm not fine I'm just something." Yosuke mumbled a little as he felt those eyes unmoving from him.

"Just something eh..?" The guys crossed his arms while staring directly at the teen's face again. "Wanna go somewhere then? Maybe talk more about this 'something'?"

Yosuke tensed a little. He didn't know this person at all, and his mother always told him never to go anywhere with strangers…much less talk to them. But he had to talk to strangers on a daily basis, and he was old enough to watch after himself, hell he wielded kunais on a near-to-daily basis.

Though the guy wasn't giving off a stalkerish or homicidal killer vibe either. Of course, it was always the one you would least suspect.

"Sometimes it's easier to talk to a total stranger than someone who knows everything about you. You don't have to hold back then."

The remembrance that him just simply talking to the guy had gotten his best friend riled up though made Yosuke feel a prickling of vindictiveness along with his insatiable curiosity to just actually talk to the guy, and finally to be able to talk to someone else about all of this chaotic nonsense that had been happening.

"Yeah all right. I'm not even scheduled to be here so."

"Great. How about you get whatever stuff you have and I'll wait out front."

Yosuke nodded just as the guy gave him a half-smirk before leaving the aisle.

He felt nervous, but in a good way. For some reason his numbness wore off a little and he was heading up to the staff room quicker than he expected himself too. In the back of his mind, he knew this was probably a bad idea. But he actually felt like he needed this right now.

It's not like he was planning on something happening, no the thought never crossed his mind. Even if it did, did it really matter now? It seemed like his best friend was well on the way to taking things to the next level with the model, which would leave him where? Alone probably.

Doing something without his best friend's approval for once, he tugged his messenger back onto his side as his apron was now pushed inside of it. He didn't know what was in store for him when he headed down the elevator and out to the entrance, but he felt like it would probably end up being for the best.

_**Probably.**_


	9. Encounter 8

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 8 -_

* * *

It had been a long shot to agree to something like this.

There hadn't been a time before where Yosuke had felt so disconnected from a person. He wasn't even sure how to be handling the feeling, so he had blindly agreed to at least getting away, trying to do anything to distract himself from the horrid sensation.

"So…do you want to tell me what's on your mind?"

Yosuke fidgeted greatly, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt as he felt the night air around him. They sat on a bench in a nearby park, the lights of the shopping district shining close by.

"It's all really complicated." He paused for a moment, as if trying to inwardly decide how to even start. "A few weeks ago, me and my best friend ended up…well sort of _fooling around_ I guess. It was all by accident, but it's gotten really far. And I'm not like _that _and neither is he, so I keep telling him to go out with this girl and I mean-you know Rise. Yeah her, **everyone** knows Risette, she's famous as hell."

Yosuke kept talking so fast, hardly even pausing in between for air as he was almost rambling out all his issues and feelings at once. "I want him to go out with her, because there's nothing really going on with us. I keep thinking there isn't, but I just get so _mad_ when I see them together or even think about it. And before you saw me tonight, I saw him in the aisle, and he was buying..well…you can guess I'm sure."

The guy tilted his head, never moving his gaze once from the teen as he spoke his thoughts so fluidly.

"And I can't believe I'm even out here talking to you-someone whose name I don't even know. I'm telling you things I wouldn't even be able to tell any of my closest friends."

"Well that's because you all are a close group of friends I'm guessing."

"Yeah."

"My name is Takaya."

"Yosuke."

"I remember."

Blue eyes were staring at the lithe figure next to him that was clearly still a little nervous, but he had relaxed a lot from before.

"So…am I crazy?"

"My diagnosis…" He leaned his arm over the top of the bench, shifting to the side to look at the brunette more. "…Is that you are jealous only because you've got a deep investment with the guy. I mean you were already best friends, and doing something intimate like that can lead to an attachment even if you don't mean for it to."

"Ugh I'm not like in love with him."

"I didn't say that." Yosuke closed his mouth and stared at blue eyes. "It's a feeling of possession that can also come with the attachment. You've found something that you don't want anyone else having, but at the same time you don't want the consequences that come along with it. You're going to have to make a choice. You either settle down with the friends with benefits thing and nothing more, but you're going to have to end it assuming he does get with little miss Rise."

"And my second choice?"

"You end it now and cut off a huge amount of pain that you might feel later on."

Yosuke sighed heavily. He leaned back against the bench, his back unknowingly brushing up against the hand that had been lingering at the top.

"I don't know how much of these rages moments of jealousy I can stand."

"It's not fun. Neither is the constant worrying and thinking about a person that isn't attainable."

"You seem to be able to relate to this a lot."

"I've been in the same situation before. It's hell."

"What did you do?"

The guy smirked, looking away only to have the smirk fade just as quickly. "I did the stupid thing and stuck around for something that ended up being nothing."

Yosuke winced and suddenly felt like he just wanted to hug him. That was the first time he saw him without that suave demeanor shining off of him. It was like a crack in the mask, and he wasn't even sure why but he couldn't stop staring at him. His hand moved over, pressing over his knee as if by means of comfort.

"Well you still seem fine to me."

"I'm always fine." The hidden meaning became apparent when his smirk returned just as he looked back over to brown eyes.

Yosuke rolled his eyes, a smile unable to stop itself from forming on his lips. For some reason he felt very comfortable with this guy already.

"Do you want to come back to my place? I'm not trying to pull any weird shit, it's just getting kind of cold out here and everything is closing since it's past nine."

"Yeah-Yeah I think that would be a good idea." Yosuke nodded while standing up, his smile still present as he felt like this was turning into a good distraction. It was just as he shifted his bag on his side and they began to head down the street towards apartment buildings that his phone went off in his pocket, but he was so caught up in talking that he failed to notice.

Yu shifted where he stood, his phone shoved back into his pocket just as the lithe figure of a young woman bounced back into the kitchen.

They had cooked dinner at home that night, well he had. All she had done was make a side salad and poured a few cups of wine every now and then.

This would mark their fifth date, and Yu was overly prepared for it.

It was hard to say just why he was prepared for it, probably more so because the past week had proven to be a strange turn on the interactions with him and his best friend. The weirdness they had dipped into became almost non-existent now, seeing as after the encounter at Junes, Yosuke had almost closed himself off entirely.

They still did things, but it just didn't feel as intense or driven as before. The few days before this very date, they had hardly even spoken to one another. He couldn't tell if the curiosity had worn off or if the brunette was simply distancing himself. Though, it was clear that he had given him a look of something whenever they had parted after school that day. That look was more than likely because of the date he had with Rise that evening.

Yu could always tell Yosuke hated the dates, even though he was the one who insisted on them to begin with. It was such a double-standard, and Yu still couldn't even begin to come to terms with understanding any of it. He tried not to question it for fear of ruining things with Yosuke, not even the sexual part, more so the friendship.

"Narukami-kun…" Rise gave him a look, her hand moving out to grab his as he was led from the kitchen and throughout the house.

He had been expecting something. The last time they had been together it ended up in a long make-out session, and she didn't seem like the type to hold back for very long.

The only reason he had gone to Junes was solely for protection in case it did escalate. He wasn't sure how Yosuke would take it, he wasn't even sure he would bother asking him if he would be okay with it. But Yu felt like he should ask, and he had only just sent a text but it seemed like it would be too late to even receive an answer because there he was standing in the doorway to her bedroom.

"This is my room, what do you think?"

She was pointing out a few oddities of the room just as she moved to sit on the vast queen size bed.

"It's not as big as my room in the city, but the bed is really comfortable."

He shifted his hand along his phone in his pocket, pulling it out for a second just to double-check. No response.

"Do you like it here Rise?"

"Hmm? It's not as lively as the city but I don't mind it, especially since you're here. Come sit with me!" She padded on the spot next to her and Yu felt no choice but to join her there.

Yu wanted to stall; he suddenly got a very strong gut feeling that this probably wasn't the wisest thing to do. But as he felt a hand move onto his leg and brown eyes staring at him, he knew it was going to be hard to stall Rise of all people.

"Did you do a lot when you lived-"

His sentence was cut off as she devoured onto his lips without warning. Her small frame shifted onto his lap and was pushing him back onto the bed just as his hands moved over her hips by means of support. There was no fighting her off, and he decided to give in for now and try to keep the kissing going for as long as possible.

"I want you so much Narukami-kun.."

Her hips pushed down over him, grinding in a way that was hard to ignore since the fabric of whatever she was wearing was relatively thin.

All Yu could do was think about how he just wanted his phone to go off.

**Text Received From Narukami Yu:**

_I think she might want to have sex tonight, are you okay with that?_

Yosuke shifted uncomfortably in the stool he sat at. As he stared down at his phone, he wasn't even sure how to bring himself to respond.

The raven-haired young man stood on the other side of the counter, about to grab a few sodas but as soon as he saw the blank expression from the teen nearby he simply grabbed the phone and stared at the text.

Setting the device down, he turned and started grabbing a few bottles of liquor and glasses before going through a mixing process.

"Remember what I told you."

"I know-I just-I _want_ to say don't do it."

"You're just going to make it worse if you do that, unless you actually want a relationship with him."

Yosuke grabbed the phone, watching the other mix a drink just as he started typing back a reply.

Once he felt satisfied with his response, he shut his phone.

"I figured you would need something a little stronger than a soda right now."

"I don't drink very often since I'm still underage."

"I didn't put _that_ much liquor in here, just drink it slow and you should be fine."

Taking note of his advice, he took a sip, hardly even tasting any alcohol in what appeared to be some sort of martini or another. As he took another sip, he slipped off the stool and started moving through the small apartment. It was homey in a way.

"Didn't peg you for the type to be into home décor."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to judge a book by its cover?"

The leather jacket wearing and well-composed coolness of the essence of Takaya was certainly fabricated to be a visage that Yosuke never imagined to be true. It was like a long, lost cousin of Kanji minus the awkwardness.

"You've definitely changed not only the cover but the whole book."

Takaya smiled, leaning against the side of his couch as he took a sip of his own drink. "It's always nice to pleasantly surprise people. Well more so, people like you."

"People like me?"

"I don't even think I should say that, it's more of just pleasantly surprising you."

Yosuke was caught up in staring at blue eyes from across the room. His mouth unconsciously took a huge sip from his drink, feeling the subtleties of the alcohol moving through him fast and only relaxing him more under that gaze even more.

"Remember, pace yourself." He pointed out to the brunette just as he moved over to him and took the drink from his hand to set it aside.

"What's on your mind now?"

"I'm wondering why you're being so nice to me."

"I know how it feels to be in your situation. When I was in it, I wish I could have had someone to at least talk to."

"You hardly know me."

"Maybe that's why it makes this even better."

Yosuke couldn't help to agree, even more so because no moves were being made even with how close they were standing to each other, just simple conversation and a relaxing atmosphere with a total stranger that he was slowly deciding he would definitely like to not just be a stranger.

In that moment, he completely forgot about his best friend and all the complications that were coming along with that title.


	10. Encounter 9

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 9 -_

* * *

Yu had felt his phone vibrate. He had broken off the kiss long enough to make up an excuse that he needed to check up on Nanako. Rise gave a small giggle of understanding, lingering on her bed before she got up to her vanity to check herself.

The silverette exited the room that was almost closing in on him. He pulled out his phone so fast, walking down the hallway and falling against the wall as he read the words of the message.

**Text Received from Yosuke Hanamura:**

_Do whatever you want to do. I'm out with someone else, so I'll talk to you later._

Do whatever he wanted to do?

Yu re-read the text a few more times, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind the words. But he knew there wasn't any. The fact that he was also out with someone else at that very moment made him feel uneasy. His hands shook a little, and as he went to start a reply he stopped himself.

A flash in his mind made him remember that guy, the one from before-the one that had been just a little _**too**_ close to Yosuke. For some reason, Yu felt like it was _him_ that he was out with.

"Narukami-kun..! Is Nanako-chan okay?"

The soft voice of Rise rang through the hall as she called to him from her room.

Yu was completely frozen on what to do. He was too caught up in his moment of shock and a building jealousy and anger that he felt himself being tugged in two different directions. He could easily leave, go find Yosuke, yell at him for ever daring to go and…but at the same time he had no right to. They weren't together; they were just friends who did things sometimes. And lately that wasn't even enjoyable for either of them.

Would it be for the best? Was that what his response was trying to signify?

Feeling the plastic in his back pocket, he decided to move forward away from the one thing that was uncertain and towards the thing that was.

* * *

Yosuke was surprisingly in a good mood the next morning when he woke up for school. The bit of tiredness that was still in his body from the drink he had the night before hardly even fazed him. He had even completely forgot about how his best friend had possibly had sex with the model, that was, until he saw them walking along their route the next morning.

Her arm was latched onto his, a bright smile on her lips as he was animatedly talking with her.

That was when Yosuke suddenly felt every ounce of happiness he had disappear as quick as he had breathed.

Trying to remain hidden, he kept to the other side of the street, lingering behind them as he tried to focus on his music and nothing else. As he felt brown eyes suddenly shift onto him, a yell was directed at him, and he had no choice but to look over and wave at the couple. Rise was yelling for him to walk with them, and he found himself more than half-heartedly trudging across the street to the couple.

Yu merely spared a glance to him before looking back to the girl. Yosuke took notice of that and it made his heart break even more.

"We were just talking about how Narukami-kun is such a great cook!"

"Yeah…he is." Yosuke mumbled back as they started walking towards the school again.

"He made such a great dinner last night, and dessert was even better." The girl giggled as if the words had a secret meaning to them.

"I bet." Yosuke shoved his hands into his pockets, staring off to the side as he was really hating life in that moment.

"We need to find you a girl to go out with!" Rise exclaimed as she still clung so adamantly to the boy's arm.

"He's already seeing someone."

Yu broke through the conversation, looking at Rise's confused look for a second before shifting his gaze to the brunette who was still looking away but had visibly tensed.

"Right?"

"O-Oh yeah. It's kind of recent, but yeah I am."

"That's so cute! Oh-I wanna meet her! You should've told uuus!"

Yosuke felt embarrassed, heartbroken, uneasy, and confused all at the same time. All he could do was keep his gaze away from them, especially as he felt grey eyes staring fully at him now.

"Oh hey-Yukiko- be right back I need to talk to the girls before class." Rise gaze Yu a cute look of hers before leaning up to kiss his cheek and run further ahead to the two girls as they were walking to the school grounds.

The two walked in silence. There had never been a heavy sense of discomfort between them, so this was a first. As they reached the school gates and headed closer to the building, Yu waited until they were inside, having shed their shoes and going towards the stairs before he tugged the boy's arm and hurled him into a dark alcove nearby.

"Where were you last night?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I have the right to know."

"No, you _don't_."

"I'm your friend aren't I?"

"I don't know anymore."

Yu slammed his hand against the wall, keeping the boy's body between him and the wall as he stared at him with a deadly gaze.

"How the fuck can you say that to me?"

"Because we don't act like friends anymore. Before we still were and then all of that happened and now-I don't even know anymore."

"So you don't want me around now, is that it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what? You want that other guy around instead of me? Is that it?"

Yosuke could already sense where this conversation was heading.

"If you start letting your jealousy-"

"You were just as jealous before, or did you already forget how you sucked me off in the stall at that restaurant?"

Yosuke went silent as Yu was all but trying to seethe in that moment.

"Did you sleep with her?"

The one question that Yu wasn't expecting to hear in that moment, it caught him off-guard. His eyes showed a tint of surprise before they lowered to slits.

"Did you?"

With the question repeated to him, he could only mutter his response lowly.

"Yes."

"I knew it. I fucking knew you would do it."

Yosuke glanced away, feeling like he didn't want to be even within a feet's distance of the other. He felt dirty, unsure of even how to stop himself from breaking down over something like this. He didn't even have a good reason for it, he just knew it hurt.

"What was I supposed to do after you told me to do whatever I wanted, and you said you were out with someone else?"

"I don't know-maybe _not_ do it?!"

"If you would stop sending me mixed signals then maybe I would know that!" Yu tried to keep himself from yelling too loudly, he didn't want students finding them. "You can't keep running from me, you have to tell me what _**this**_ is."

"There isn't a _this_. And even if there might've started to be before, there definitely isn't now."

There was a half-choke on his words as he tried not to completely break in front of him. He didn't want him to see just how much this was affecting him.

"How the hell is that even fair? You push me away, tell me to go out with her, and now you're getting upset like I cheated on you or something?"

"I know it's not fair. Which is why I'm letting you do whatever you want."

"What?"

"Nothing else is going to go on between us, okay, so you can date Rise without any problems."

"Yosuke-"

"I have to go."

He pushed the boy's arm away, wiping the tears on his sleeve as soon as he was turned from him. He'd never walked through the halls of his school so fast in his entire life. All he knew, was he needed solace from the situation. He needed to clear his head, to find some way to cope with the emotional blow.

Without even realizing it, he was leaving the school grounds and heading to the place that he had just left the night before.


	11. Encounter 10

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 10 -_

* * *

Yosuke could barely manage to knock on the door of the apartment. His hand was shaking so bad, he could hardly even look up whenever the door did open and a topless Takaya was standing in the doorway.

"Yosuke?"

"H-Hey."

"Don't you have school?"

"Sorry I just-"

When Takaya picked up on the slight waver in the teen's voice, he grabbed onto his forearm gently to tug him past the doorway and into the apartment. After closing the door, he turned to look at him as he dropped his bag and sat on the same stool from the night before.

"Remember how you told me to cut it off?"

"Yeah."

"I did. I mean I sort of did last night with the reply I sent." Takaya didn't take his eyes off the brunette as he was speaking. "He slept with her last night. He just..just told me."

"I'm surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"With the way he looked at you that one night last week, I never would have thought that he would have given in so easily like that."

"What..do you mean?" Yosuke repeated the question slower, as if he was trying to understand.

"He had that predatory look in his eyes when I caught a glimpse of him. It's shocking to me that he would go and fuck someone else at the drop of a hat."

"Well he did."

Takaya stayed still for a moment as if to survey the damage.

"She was all happy and clinging to him non-stop this morning. Then he cornered me asking where I had been last night. I don't even want to remember the rest."

The brunette slid a hand onto his forehead, trying not to completely break down in front of someone he had only just started speaking properly with the night before.

"It's probably for the best. It fucking sucks to hear it, but if you had said no last night, I'm sure the same question would've been asked again sooner or later."

"Yeah I know."

"And you don't want a relationship with the guy…so it's just a matter of getting over the physical attachment."

"But he's my best friend."

"I know. Because of that you also have to decide if you want to keep that friendship or not."

"I told him earlier I don't even feel like we're friends anymore."

The raven-haired young man took a few steps over to him, observing him as he watched the teen drop his hand and slowly look up at him.

"If that's how you feel then put some distance between you two for a while."

Yosuke didn't even think he'd be able to manage looking at the guy the same way much less ever talking to him. The advice he was being given seemed like the best option for now, and at least, he had someone else he could hang out with until things settled down with the rest of the group. God that was going to be a nightmare to endure with the couple in tow.

"Sorry to just show up like this, I just didn't know where else to go."

"It's fine. I was just cleaning the kitchen a little."

It was as Yosuke actually looked at the guy that he saw he wasn't wearing a shirt. Coughing slightly and looking over at the kitchen, he tried not to revel in that fact. "I see. All clean then?"

"Yeah I just finished when you knocked."

Takaya moved into the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink and drying them off on a towel before looking at the boy nearby.

"So you're skipping today then?"

"Class already started so yeah, I usually sleep in class anyways and just get a friend's notes."

"You sound like me."

Yosuke watched as the young man moved over to the kitchen, starting to grab various items out of the fridge. "How old are you anyways?"

"I'm nineteen."

"You're not in college?"

"I see it as a waste of time."

The brunette shifted a little in his seat as he was now listening and watching the other messing with various items. "Yeah I'm still deciding what I even want to do…what are you doing?"

"Making us something to eat. I'm guessing you didn't wake up early enough for breakfast."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You stayed here pretty late last night and you kept saying how the alcohol made you tired, so I'm sure you slept until your alarm went off and barely made it to school on time."

This guy could read him pretty well so far. Was he really that easy of a read? He always thought it was a special thing Yu had going for him, but maybe he wasn't the only one with that adaptability.

"Are you stalking me or something?"

"No, it's just not hard to figure you out. Do you like your eggs scrambled or fried?"

Yosuke went to open his mouth, barely speaking his reply just as the other replied at the same time.

"Scrambled."

The brunette fixed his mouth close as he blinked at the grinning individual in the kitchen.

"See."

The teen was a bit miffed and had to take a moment to stop his small pouting session.

"You know you're a lot different than when I first met you."

"I am?"

"Well yeah I mean you had your hand on my face and stuff, it was kind of weird."

"You didn't like it?"

"It was _weird_."

Takaya let the eggs sit for a few moments, turning around to move around the counter and stand near the teen sitting near the bar. "I like weird things." He shifted near him suddenly moving his right hand alongside of the boy's cheek which instantly became a shade of red.

"Why?"

"I like things that are unexpected and surprises. You happened to be an unexpected surprise so that was even better."

"How can you say that when you hardly know me?" Yosuke would've normally ended with 'man' or worked the word 'dude' into his lingo, but he just could never seem to do that with this person.

"You say that a lot. Why do you have to know someone to know you'll like them?" Takaya received no answer from the other. "All I have to do is look at your eyes, and I can tell."

That line made the raven-haired man lean in closer, not enough to directly invade personal space, but enough to make Yosuke's breathing stop for a moment. The locking of blue and brown ensued for a few seconds, and it made Yosuke remember almost three weeks ago whenever he had shared a similar glance with his best friend before they first stumbled into something that was now a mess.

"A-Anyways, so what else are you going to make for breakfast?" He tried to smooth the conversation away, not wanting to get lost in those eyes that were just looking at him, but it was feeling like much more than just _looking_.

"Whatever you want. But we'll have to go by the store later to get more groceries."

"Can it be later, like after school later? I really don't want my parents finding out I skipped class."

"Yeah. Were you wanting to stay for dinner too?"

"I mean…if you're offering." He stretched while seeing the other cutting pieces of meat, making it look like little octopus'.

"Well you should tell me some of your favorite meals then, since I feel like I'm going to be 'offering' to make dinner a lot." A smirk came to his lips just as Yosuke had to keep himself from blushing.

* * *

He didn't understand what was going on. The way everything had been one way for the longest time and then in just a week's time it had all drastically changed to a territory that he had no control in. The confusion in their friendship was not something he cared for, especially since; Yosuke had become his best friend.

There was no explanation for how their interactions had gone from new, curious, passionate to completely lifeless and non-existing. Dating Rise had starting unraveling their experimentation and moments of release. It had been something he honestly had been looking forward to every time he woke up. But since the dating had been insisted upon, he had to start restraining himself more, to back off from this new feeling that he strangely craved more of.

It hadn't been easy. He never liked being forced into things, but for Yosuke he would do it. For Yosuke he would've done anything since they had just grown to be that close. But he didn't expect for it to end up driving them apart. The fights were growing worse, and as he sat in his desk he felt rather lonely without that figure present behind of him. Even if he had just been sleeping in class or trying to pass him notes, he at least knew that he was there.

But now he wasn't. He couldn't make sense of it either. What had happened to their friendship, why he wasn't there now, why he was being forced into something he didn't even really want. And as much as he hated being forced into things, he still was going through with it because now he felt like he had nothing. Things with Yosuke were almost becoming beyond repair, and he needed solace in whatever he could find. Being thrown into the arms of the model, he decided to go with it.

But now that he had, he didn't know how to feel besides numb.

The confession about his activities from the night before made him inwardly hate himself, but he also couldn't help but to feel a growing tension towards the brunette at the same time. He was getting upset over something he told him to do. How was that even fair?

The possibility came in his analytical thinking that it was a 'test' of sorts. But that still didn't make him feel any better. He thought that their friendship had gone beyond the bounds of having to test one another. Scribbling notes roughly onto his notebook, he tried to focus on the words on the board. The constant bickering in his subconscious was killing that possibility.

It wasn't just a friendship anymore. It was somewhere in limbo, between the stages of being friends and being something completely different. There were not set rules of boundaries for how they were supposed to act. Nothing was certain and that ultimately made Yu angry.

Losing focus, he was grateful for when the final bell rang.

With his school bag in tow, he moved through the hallways. The entire day had felt like one, big blur since the fight that morning. Seeing the model bounding over to him as he reached the first floor was actually giving him a settling sense of relief for a distraction to the never-ending thoughts.

"Narukami-kuuuun!"

"Hey."

"I have some homework to do, but I need some help with it."

"Do you want to come over then?"

"Yes!"

"I have to stop by the store first on the way home to get a few things for the house, is that okay?"

"Sure, of course!" She clung onto his arm just as they started exiting the building.

The walk to Junes was a short one. Idle conversation about classes and random observations was made, and as they walked up to the doors, they entered the elevators and headed up to the floor where the grocery aisles were located. As they moved along to grab a basket, a familiar mass of brown hair was seen from his peripheral vision.

As he glanced up, he saw the familiar school uniform, heard the faintest trailing off of his voice, and caught a glimpse of the stranger that he held no liking for whatsoever.

Shopping suddenly got a lot more complicated.


	12. Encounter 11

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 11 -_

* * *

Yosuke was strolling along, holding a long list in his hands as he was reading over the words. He was vaguely paying attention to where he was walking as they headed throughout the grocery section.

"Tea…soda…"

"Got that."

"Bread."

"Mhm."

"Garlic, pasta, some weird sauce?"

They progressed through a few more aisles, Yosuke trying to wrap his head around everything they were buying. He never realized so many things were needed in cooking.

"How do you even make a list like this? I would forget so much stuff."

"Not surprising."

Yosuke scratched his head as he was caught in between moving down another aisle and staring at the list again. Just as he went to catch up, he looked to the right to see a well-known set of grey eyes watching him. _Intently_.

Without even thinking twice on it, the brunette staggered forward in a hurry, almost bumping into his shopping companion. The figure in front of him stopped short to look back at him for the odd behavior.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh uh…nothing. Just got distracted for a second."

Takaya gave him a look that said he didn't buy into the excuse so easily. And as he grabbed one thing from the aisle, he barely even had to turn around to the next aisle to see just what had made the other become relatively different than before.

Seeing how the girl that was supposedly famous was latched to him like a third arm, Takaya could understand why the teen had been in a despairing state earlier that morning.

"Wanna have some fun?"

Yosuke instantly looked up to see the mischievous glint in blue eyes.

"W-What do you mean?"

"It made you mad didn't it? What he did."

"Well yeah but it's all complicated…"

"So? He hurt you didn't he?"

"I guess."

"Then just, go along with what I do."

"Right." Yosuke nodded slightly just as he felt a hand slide around his waist and pull him closer to a warm body.

The sudden change in their mannerisms made the brunette hide his face in the confines of the list. His eyes were wide, his heart racing, palms sweaty as he felt himself walking along with the defined figure of the young man clothed in black.

He didn't even have to look up as they were picking up a few items off the shelves in that aisle. He knew grey eyes were piercing at him and even more at the hand latched around his body and resting on his hip. The only saving grace was that Rise had been too preoccupied in finding something to notice that they walked right past them. He knew it would've been a long conversation full of girly screams from her if she _had_ seen them.

Why was this happening?

A month ago there had been a substantial friendship. Why was he even trying to extract some sort of revenge? The vindictive idea sounded like an appealing option though. He wasn't sure why. What he really wasn't sure of was just why he had been hurt to begin with. It had all just been a matter of physical fulfillment and nothing else, right?

"What's left on the list?"

"Oh..a long list of vegetables..and some meat?"

"Let's head to the frozen food area first then."

They stayed close as they moved throughout the store. Yosuke was praying that keeping his head hidden behind that paper would keep him from seeing anyone he knew, along with that person in particular. He couldn't even see what was in front of him as he let his feet and the hand on his hip guide him along. So when he felt the other stop he did as well.

The movement was so sudden though, and he found himself glancing up at him to see blue eyes already staring at him.

"They're over there. Stay in that position."

Takaya was practically smirking in amusement as he leaned his head in. The paper was shielding them as their faces lingered close. From the outsider's view staring over at them though, it looked as if they were sharing a secret kiss of sorts.

"W-What are you-"

"Just giving an illusion to something."

Yosuke was holding his breath without even realizing it. As he watched the raven-haired man withdraw a few moments later, his throat released the air that had been restrained. The sudden rush was too much and he found himself suddenly needing a break from the tense atmosphere.

"I-I'm just going to go to the bathroom really quick."

"Meet me in the vegetable area."

From the outsider point of view, a slowly rising anger was clear through a grey perspective.

"I need to go by the staff room and see if I left a jacket here from the last time I worked."

"Okay I'll go look at the clothes then." Rise gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying off towards the escalators nearby.

Yu spared the stranger an obvious glare just as a smirk was given to him in return.

The sight was striking in a way that it was almost like looking at something familiar. Staying aware of that fact, it made him walk at a normal pace, surveying the person as he kept a distance between them and walked further down the long, central aisle that led to an elevator. His finger hit the call button on the device, only waiting a few moments before he moved inside and hit for floor five. As he looked forward, he still felt blue eyes on him.

It made him feel a tingle down his spine, but he would never acknowledge it.

Yosuke had hardly managed to exit the bathroom door before he was pushed back into the confines of it. The vaguest snap of a lock was heard just before he found himself staring into grey eyes much as he had been earlier that morning.

"What the _hell_ is going on with us?"

"Nothing. Remember I told you-"

"Stop it."

Yu's voice was low, but it shuddered in a way that was borderline emotional. It made the brunette fixate his mouth half-way open as he was unsure of how to react to the flash of feelings in steel-grey.

"Why are you doing this?"

Yosuke completely ignored the question.

"Why did you do that last night?"

"Because you didn't care."

"Are you serious? All I've ever _done_ is care."

The words caused Yosuke to move a hand over his mouth so fast he hadn't even processed just **what** he had revealed even to himself.

Yu pushed that hand away with just as much haste, pinning the boy's arms against the wall as he leaned into press a firm kiss on his lips. The kiss wasn't returned at first, but when the taller teen pressed in closer, Yosuke couldn't help but to part his lips more and feel whatever it was that he had been _missing _for the past few weeks.

**Unconsciously, so desperately missing.**

"Has he touched you?" Yu questioned, and he only persisted in asking more as he brushed away from the kiss to bite and kiss at the boy's neck. "I saw he kissed you."

"W-What.."

Yosuke could hardly even comprehend the words being thrown at him much less anything as he felt his best friend kissing him and biting as if to mark him again. The pain in his neck was pleasurable, but at the same time, he felt a strange feeling of being re-marked in a way that he wasn't sure of.

"What are you going to do about Rise?"

"I don't know."

"Is that something you actually want?" Yosuke struggled at the grasp on his wrists, feeling how the other was now slowing in his movements.

"I thought it was what you wanted."

"I don't know what I want."

The brunette didn't even realize the true implications behind what he had spoken. All he saw was how grey eyes reacted, seeing the moment of realization, followed by a crashing of unease and worry, maybe even sadness.

"I should let you figure that out then."

Yosuke went to reach out, to try to grab onto the one person that inwardly meant so much to him but he was already turning to open the door and walk away without another word.

The shuddering of the door closing shut made him slide to the floor. Hands on his head, gripping at his hair, he had no idea what he had done. No sense was forming from how it all started or even what was supposed to happen now. In his mind, he hadn't even realized what he had meant by '_I don't know what I want_.' But the reality was hitting him hard along with the tears.

Was he really caught between two people? Or was it the other way around? In the end, all he could see was how he had caused all of this. He had met Takaya; he had made his best friend go out with Rise. And now he was suffering all of the consequences.

Feeling a sense of claustrophobia close to suffocation, he stumbled up from the floor. Wiping the tears onto the sleeve of his uniform jacket, he was running out of the bathroom door and heading to the stairwell. There was nothing that could ease the foreign tug at his heart, the heaviness in his chest. Only one thing had, and he just needed it now.

As he pushed open the stairwell door, he headed through a bit of coldness in the air, seeing the back of a black jacket signaling that he was there. He didn't even spare a moment in moving over to him, grabbing onto his arm and tugging him along to the checkout area.

"Woah-hey-what the hell is wrong?"

"I need to leave."

"Yeah okay." Takaya spared a glance down to see the slightly distraught state of the teen. "Go wait outside."

Yosuke nodded numbly before brushing past a few people and heading outside. He found an isolated area around the corner of the building which was on the way to the other's apartment. Not even five minutes later he heard a shuffling of bags and saw the tall figure heading towards him.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine."

They headed back in silence. The only sound filling the air between them the fainted rustling of plastic. As they reached the apartment, the groceries were dumped onto the counter and steadily put away. The brunette stayed put in his stool as he stared at a spec on the counter.

A large thump on that counter made him look up though.

"I can't take you being in this-whatever this is."

Yosuke looked at the other and then at the large bottle that was put in front of him.

"We're going to drink tonight. And I mean, _really_ drink."

Any escape from the confusing thoughts and uncertain reality was seen as a brighter side to Yosuke.

"You're on."


	13. Encounter 12

_* Author's Note: Oops. I accidentally labeled my Word documents wrong chapter-wise. So I uploaded the chapter that was missing and re-uploaded the newer one as well so it all makes sense._

* * *

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 12 -_

* * *

There was no beginning to how he could understand what he had heard.

It didn't make sense, how they had been so wrapped up in each other and this new feeling, and not even a week later it was all squandered away because of two people. Two people he felt that didn't even belong.

He said he was going to help her with her homework, fine. But he could hardly concentrate on what was on the paper in front of him, much less come up with a logical way of explaining anything to her. The same line kept repeating in his head – _I don't know what I want_.

In that moment, it was so ironic to him, because Yu knew what he wanted.

It didn't matter how; he just wanted Yosuke back in his life.

Rounds of shots later, the two in the apartment were certainly laughing and smiling more than was necessary. More so, Yosuke.

"How can you not remember anything from when you were younger?"

"I mean, I remember some things, just not as much as other people. I don't have a very good memory."

Yosuke was practically in one of Yukiko's giggling fits as he stumbled across the kitchen to the counter. He was barely able to slide up onto it which had Takaya biting back more laughs than was necessary.

"Yeah well..I think the present is more important anyways." The raven-haired man added on in a more normal tone.

"I guess."

The side effects of laughter died down a little and the silence lingered for a second.

"How many people have you fucked?"

The spree to get to know this person better was definitely about to go into fast-track mode. Yosuke wanted to slap himself for actually verbalizing the question that he had been wondering about for a while now. It was just his natural curiosity, but since he wasn't _entirely_ sober right now, his restraint was withheld.

The alcohol was a fiend. It was putting ideas into his mind, arguing towards things that he normally wouldn't have agreed to so easily. But given the circumstances, and how distant he felt from that certain someone, he wasn't sure what was best for him or not anymore.

So he thought- _what the hell?_

What could it hurt?

_**Things were already fucked up enough as is.**_

"Only a few."

"A few? A few as in I'm holding a handful of cards or as in the entire fucking deck?"

"Just a handful."

"Hmm…what's your type?"

"I thought that was obvious from the first time I acted 'weird' around you?"

Takaya had laughed lightly as he saw the boy get flustered regardless of how red his cheeks were from the alcohol he had already taken in.

"So you would do it then?"

"Do what?"

"You'd do _that_."

"Well yeah, sure." He gave him a once over briefly.

Their eyes locked in a gaze. The brunette shifting back against the cabinets as he sat on the countertop.

"Do it."

"What?"

"_Fuck me_."

Yosuke stared at the other intently. The alcohol was flowing through him, yet he still was sober enough to rationalize what he was **actually** doing. That didn't stop him from speaking such a statement knowing the meaning and what consequences lied with it.

Takaya didn't need to be told twice.

Moving his hands over, he started unbuttoning the brunette's pants, tugging them down his hips along with his boxers. After they fell at the teen's ankles, they were kicked aside so the other could shift in closer. He pressed three fingers up, letting the other suck on them slightly before they were pulled away and shifted down to the edge of the counter.

Yosuke felt the fingers intruding into him, pushing deeply as their gazes never once shifted away from each other. His hands moved to the edge of the countertop, gripping slightly as he tried to keep his uneven breathing and sounds from escaping too much.

Takaya deftly unbuttoned his own jeans, pulling out his half-hard length, it only growing harder with every second that passed. No words were exchanged as he placed his hands onto the boy's hips, tugging him to the edge completely before he aligned himself up to his entrance to push in slowly.

The small figure was leaned back against the counter, hands unmoving from where they were placed. His legs wrapped around the other's body on instinct, but still not wanting to move in too much. He didn't want the interaction becoming too personal. That had been his mistake with the previous person.

Takaya kept the pace slow at first, letting the boy adjust to his size before he started pushing into him harder. Their hips met with a rough smacking sound, the slightest of grunts and moans escaping here and there as they tried not to put too much thought into what was really happening.

Yosuke felt the movements, could feel the heat radiating through him, and he was still trying not to let any moans slip past his lips. He'd only ever let one person hear such things, and even now he still didn't want anyone else to. It made him hate just how much he had felt for that person, not even able to get him out of his mind even as someone else was fucking him.

He couldn't help but wonder if he had thought of him while he was fucking the model. Did he secretly wish that she had been Yosuke instead? Maybe that was the only way he had gotten through it.

It didn't matter anymore though.

Things were becoming pretty serious with him and the model, or, that's what he could see from the outside looking in. He hadn't spoken properly to the other in going on a week now.

"Stop thinking."

Yosuke snapped out his trance. Hands gripped onto his hips harder as he heard the low voice of the young man in front of him.

"Just feel."

Nodding slightly, the boy took in the advice, feeling the thrusts pushing in deep enough to hit the part within him that always made him weak. A subtle moan was unable to be held back, even more so as he felt the hardness creating more warmth inside of him, and the thrusts becoming faster. Each hit sent a shock of pleasure running through him, and the faster they occurred, the more wetness he felt leaking from the tip of his erection.

The surprisingly soft hand of Takaya reached from the boy's hip and to that erection, stroking over it roughly to match up with his thrusts. Yosuke was all but whimpering now, succumbing to the touches and thrusts that were making even harsher smacking sounds than before.

Takaya was trying to keep a handle on things. He knew there was a clear boundary. This was just a random moment of something. There was nothing personal about it**. Just sex**.

He felt himself groaning as his fingertips all but gripped rough enough to causes bruises on fair-skin. There was hardly any way he could continue much longer. He felt the boy clenching around him, the soft moans breaking through the silence aside from bare skin slapping together.

Yosuke felt himself breathing out unevenly, words caught in his throat. Only a moan slipped out as he spurted white over the hand that was moving over him roughly. As the thrusts continued deeply inside of him, the warmth he felt releasing inside made more strings of white release.

The two stayed still as the thrusts ceased. Their bodies shifting from the jolts of pleasure to the calming sensations. They both remained quiet even after the fact, Takaya withdrawing both himself and his hand away before moving over to the sink. As he finally broke eye contact, he turned to the sink, starting to wash his hands and himself as he heard a shuffling from the counter behind of him.

The brunette slid off the counter, quickly moving through the kitchen and over to the bathroom along the small intersection between the living room and bedroom. It took him a few minutes to clean himself up, his hands shaking a little as he washed his hands and then stared at himself in the bathroom mirror.

He could remember a time when he was in the bathroom staring at his reflection, wondering just how he had gotten to this point. That tingling feeling of reminiscence took over him as he stared at himself again, not wondering how he got here, but why everything had gotten so overly complicated. Since the last time he had really looked at himself, he had lost touch with his best friend, just had sex with a random guy, and now he had no idea what else would happen. All he knew was that the feeling still lingered.

He still wanted the one thing he couldn't have, and it wasn't because his subconscious was stopping him anymore.

He truly couldn't have Yu.


	14. Encounter 13

_* Author's Note: To those who have already read this chapter, go back and re-read the previous one. It was a chapter I missed while in the uploading process. Sorry about that.~_

* * *

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 13 -_

* * *

Yu felt something in a way that wasn't right.

The misplacing feeling. The sense of dread. He knew what it was but didn't want to believe it was real.

Reaching for his phone, he headed to the bathroom with a quick excuse. He could hardly even hit the call button as he closed the door. He settled for typing out a text instead.

And then everything was a blur. His hand pressed on his forehead with the sudden jolts and slight spasms of an unknown feeling. It crossed over him, making him falter back against the wall of the bathroom as he tried to return to normal. His hand gripped hard at his phone. This feeling was one he first felt the night he tried to put his hand into the TV.

It wasn't a normal emotional reaction. Nor was it something he had adjusted to.

Falling to the floor, his hand barely managed to finish the text before he fell back. His whole body was frozen, eyes stuck on the ceiling as he heard his phone make a soft noise that his text was sent.

The text was received far too late.

Yosuke had finished cleaning up and was gradually moving away from the mirror, only to stop in his tracks as he felt and heard his phone go off in his pocket. Pulling it out slowly, he saw that name flash on the screen. His finger moved to open the message before he could convince himself not to. The crushing vision of the words making him slam his fist against the sink's surface.

**Text Received From: Narukami Yu**

_Don't do it._

There was nothing he could say in return. He couldn't refute the truth. Even if they were on the worst of terms right now, he still could never bring himself to outright lie to him about something that was true.

He wanted to write 'I'm sorry'. But his fingers moved to write something else entirely.

**Text Sent From: Hanamura Yosuke**

_Too late._

What else was there but the blunt truth?

He tried to hold back tears that were coming from an unknown source. In his mind? His heart? The guilt? But why was he feeling guilty? It wasn't like the other hadn't already done the same thing.

Sex was supposed to feel good, even afterward. Before he had actually wanted to do it with _that_ person. Now he had only done it just to forget about everything. There was no afterglow, no good feelings left in the wake of what happened. He wasn't sure how to even go back out there and face Takaya.

He just wanted to leave now.

**Text Received From: Narukami Yu**

_I see you've made your choice then._

The declaration made him wipe away a few tears. There hadn't been any sort of choice made on anything. Just a stupid decision to do something he probably shouldn't have. It made him wonder if he had even felt this way after sleeping with Rise though. He'd seemed so calm and collected afterward. Like it didn't matter that he had completely fucked up what…

But there it was again. There was _**nothing**_ between them.

He kept insisting on it. Kept repeating the same line to himself. Kept voicing that it wasn't real. There was nothing forming. No sort of life would be given to something that could never be.

Yet his reflection made him see all the hidden truths.

**The guilt was real**. _The hurt was real_. **The hate was real**. _The desire was real_.

_The lust was real_. **The want was real**. _The need was real_. **The**…

He stopped himself. The phone ringing made him see how lost in thought he had become. Staring at himself for going on ten minutes now, he finally reacted and answered the call without even seeing who it was.

"Yooooosuke!"

"Teddie?" He said the name in both extreme surprise and confusion.

"Something is _**beary**_ wrong!"

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Was it something with his parents? No they wouldn't be home yet. Maybe he had just broken something else around the house.

"Sensei has gone into the TV alone again!"

"What?" Yosuke's mind went into a mode of overthinking. It was already messed up enough as it was. "And what do you mean again?"

"He's done it before, I could sense it, but he told me not to tell anyone." The voice on the other end of the line lowered slightly. "But this time it feels like something bad is going to happen so I had to bear-eak my promise."

"Okay…just…I'm going to go in after him."

"Alone? But I sense something-"

"I know you do Ted-but I need you to not tell the others."

"But Yosuke-"

"Ted. Please, just trust me. I'll get him out."

"…Okay."

"I'll be back soon." Yosuke cut the call off before he could convince himself to change his mind.

He pulled open the door, heading out into the living room to see Takaya leaned with his elbows on the counter. His eyes were staring forward, his gaze completely lost in a deep thought of some sort.

"I have to go."

"Sure." The gaze of blue eyes remained still, even as the teen grabbed his bag and was heading to the door.

Hesitation made him stop. But when he remembered his headphones at his neck, he turned away completely and left the apartment. The way his body was seemingly returned to normal made him wonder if he had even been drunk to begin with. Nothing like a crisis to shock your body back to normal.

The music from his headphones helped guide him forward as he ran down the street, the night air chilling him to the bone. Just minutes ago he had been in a tiny bathroom, fighting against his subconscious, convincing himself that there was nothing left between them. And even if he hated him for what he had done, he still couldn't just leave him like that.

He'd never heard of something as idiotic as going into a place full of danger alone. But he knew that Yu never did anything without a reason. And if he had been doing it almost continuously…it made more worry spread in his thoughts as he raced around the corner to Junes.

Moving through the back stairwell, he was up on the floor in the electronics department within a minute. The evening was growing late, so hardly any customers were present, allowing him the ease of moving into the TV without issue.

Stumbling into the main area, he slipped on his glasses. The only thing he could rely on right now was his instincts. For some reason, he felt compelled to go to the sauna.

It made him feel even more uneasy than when he had first heard how his best friend and leader was stupidly running inside the TV world alone. Concentrating on his music and the real reason he was here, he ran through the fog, avoiding unnecessary battles when possible. The heat was radiating in the atmosphere before he even reached the entrance of the place.

Memories lurched him to hesitantly move inside. He shook his head, gripping his hands into fists as he ran through the floors in desperate search. There was only so many corridors he could sneak through, though most of the shadows lurking here were relatively weaker than he was for his level.

Reaching a few floors up, he was growing a little frustrated but his music kept him on the right track.

His kunai was almost burning on his finger as he ran around a corner, skidding to a stop at the sound of an echo nearby. It sounded like metal clinging.

Following the trace of the noise, he was finally greeted with the sight of the one he had been avidly searching for having just defeated a lone shadow.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Yosuke had pushed his headphones off, running over to the other and grabbing onto his arm instantly to turn him around.

"I was fighting."

"Yeah and alone. Man, are you _fucking stupid_?"

Yu pulled his arm away from the teen's grasp as he brushed past him and started down the long hallway.

"No. I just need to train."

"No you don't. Your abilities are already surpassing the rest of the group."

"I need to do something."

"Then do it somewhere else."

Yosuke grabbed his arm again only to be pushed aside. Caught off-guard from the shove, he faltered back enough to hit the wall.

"I need to get rid of this feeling. Stay out of my way."

And then he saw a look-_that look_. It was always the look that told him the other was no longer being friendly. Only seriousness doused his composure, the obvious weight of something pushing him to run forward alone.

The brunette had hardly managed to get up in time to give chase to him regardless of the warning. He knew that it probably wouldn't end well, but he didn't want to risk it ending even worse if something happened to their silver-eyed leader. No matter how reckless he was being at the moment.

"Yu-would you just stop and talk to me?!"

No response.

"Just stop-partner-"

The sight of the figure further ahead into one of the chamber-like areas stopped suddenly.

Yosuke slowed down in his run only to pick up the pace again to move in closer, wanting to actually see the other's face. Just as he approached with some feet lying between them, he could hear him responding in a low tone.

"I told you to stay out of my way."

"But-"

"And don't you ever call me '_partner_' again."

Grey eyes were hidden with a subtle reflection from the light hitting the water nearby. But the fixed lips and lifeless tone made the intent very clear.

Yosuke wanted to scream in that moment.

"If that's what you really want-then fine." His hands gripped to fists, eyes threatening to betray his mask of seriousness but his uneasy words still gave himself away.

"It is-"

"**Not**."

The sudden booming of a voice from afar caused them both to go silent. They glanced back, staring over at the shadowed figure looming behind a guise of steam. The atmosphere dissipated as the figure appeared slowly, moving closer only to reveal itself and have the other two frozen in sheer shock.

"Nice to finally have you both here…_together_."

The shimmering blue eyes of Takaya only shadowed amusement and his hidden intentions.


	15. Encounter 14

A **Taste** of **Forever**

_- Encounter 14 -_

* * *

Yu hadn't planned on completely shutting off the entire world that evening.

The events were making him progress towards that though. He had to make an excuse about having to pick up Nanako to get the model to leave before he could head out on his own.

For a few weeks now, he had been secretly heading into the TV during those nights that the stress and frustration just got to him. It was to the point that it was almost frequent lately. Through battle, that was the only escape that let him vent his frustration, his yells, and provided a distraction for the unease that was currently running throughout his life.

After finding out what he had, he definitely had to get away.

He knew it was reckless, dangerous, stupid, every word in the book that would describe such an unsafe situation. But he just couldn't afford to put this burden on the others. He was stressing out too much lately for their few hour trips into the TV to be enough to quell the high doses that were locked within himself.

It had been hard enough just to get Teddie to agree to keep this as a secret. His worries were always dashed away though as soon as he would gear up for his first encounter with a shadow. He'd always stick with the areas that had lower level shadows out of precaution.

And so there he was, fighting, slashing, working his way up to yells. His pitch would grow as the endurance did as well. The frustration fueled every strike he made. With each swing of his sword he could feel the perspiration fall along his cheek. His glasses never strayed from their position, and he was easily clearing out the floors of the sauna.

Only the moments that he ran in the empty hallways and up the stairs to the next floor gave him any sort of break to think about the circumstances in his reality. Things were pretty broken with his best friend now. From his standpoint, he didn't think they could afford to even try and pick up what minute amount was actually left of their bond.

That truth hurt him too much. It made him mad, in a way that wasn't just being angry over something that he could easily shrug off later on. There were very few things that affected him deeply enough to physically pain or mentally torment him.

He swung his sword, clanging against the armor of a low-level shadow just as it disappeared.

As he began down another hallway, he heard vague footsteps behind of him, but he paid it no mind, presuming it was his own echo in the empty area.

But as he swung a few times to fight off another shadow that he had nearly ran straight into, he felt an arm grab onto his forearm and force him around just as the dark creature evaporated.

Their banter was short. It was anything but enjoyable either.

The last person he wanted to see right now was _Yosuke_.

He was the one who had somehow managed to make his life so much greater and now only made it so much worse.

Keeping his distance, he proceeded further into the floor, barely making it to one of the larger rooms before he was once again stopped by the other. The faintest use of the word that use to tie them together so perfectly was something that was too ironic and far too hypocritical for him to hear right now.

**Especially now**.

"I told you to stay out of my way."

"But-"

"And don't you ever call me '_partner_' again."

"If that's what you really want-then fine."

He noticed the way his hands gripped into fists. It still didn't sway him from lowering his grey eyes to slits as he spoke bluntly.

"It is-"

"**Not**."

The voice that cut him off sent a sudden shiver down his spine. The tingling didn't cease either, not as he watched the steam in the room acting like a wall from the figure that was steadily approaching them.

_Takaya._

"I imagine you're both wondering what the hell _**I **_am doing here."

"Well y-yeah.." Yosuke could hardly manage to speak as he was stuck staring at the raven-haired man in shock.

"In the TV? How did I know it existed or how to get in? How did I know you two were here?"

"Just spit it out already." Yu let his shock ware off a little only letting his want to know why this person out of anyone was here. It also pissed him off more too.

"Always straight to the point. You should be more grateful that you even have people around you."

Yu visibly stiffened for a moment as Takaya shot him a look.

"Takaya why are you here?"

"I'm here because you two are here."

The weirdness of the situation made Yu go silent as he was stuck staring over at blue eyes. Those blue eyes kept taunting him in a way, looking at him in a way that made him feel even more uneasy.

"You followed us or something?"

"No."

Yosuke's mouth was opened slightly as he wanted to press further in his questions but Takaya cut him off.

"I guess I'll have to explain myself completely or you two will just keep asking the same things over and over again. I'm sure _he_ could figure it out first though." Takaya openly stared at Yu as he greatly emphasized the pronoun before unraveling everything.

"If you didn't already know, your leader here, yes I know about that too-he's been sneaking in here for a while now and fighting on his own. What I'm sure you _don't_ know, is he hasn't been able to call on his persona now for…hmm it's been a little over two weeks now yeah?"

Yu flinched now. Yosuke was stuck looking back and forth between them as he listened intently.

"Anyways, a few weeks ago, he came into contact with something he didn't expect to see. It's something you haven't seen yet either."

"What? A shadow or something?"

"…Something like that." Takaya smirked.

The way blue eyes flickered after that made Yu tense up. There was a clicking in his thought process, and he started to feel a twist in his gut.

"No. There's no way." As if already denying the reality, Takaya proceeded to step closer to him.

"You know what happened that night. Don't you?"

"No it's _not_ true."

"The night after you two came home from the restaurant. Yosuke you came over and fucked him on the couch. Do you know how much he loved watching you ride his dick?"

Yosuke was completely baffled at hearing Takaya of all people talking about their personal affairs. His face flushed deeply and it only got worse.

"But after that, when you said there was still nothing between you two and you still insisted he went out with Rise, he ended up coming in here alone again. It was so cliché too, he ended up at the top of Yukiko's castle, in the tallest chamber of the tallest tower. And guess who appeared?"

_It was nothing. All of it was nothing._

"I did."

_They were close, they were friends, they were best friends._

_Yu reached the stop of the winding stairwell, finding a room that they hadn't during their first excursion through the castle. As he moved to push open a chest in the corner, a sudden movement of a shadow cast along the wall made him stop and look back with his sword in hand._

"Of course then, I was in my shadow form. So I had to look exactly like him. You know the usual shadow self bullshit."

_They would never be more than that._

_That didn't stop what he was starting to feel though._

"_There's nothing wrong with me. The others maybe have issues, but I've already accept who I am-"_

"_**Oh cut the bullshit. You hate being alone."**_

"_I'm not alone anymore."_

"_**Yeah, for now. You've got this great thing going with the Junes Prince, but once that ends, then you'll have lost him, and eventually things will end up growing awkward with the rest of the group as well. You know you can't handle those kinds of situations either. You'd prefer just to avoid it at all costs and keep to yourself."**_

"_I wouldn't lose the rest of my friends because of something like that."_

"_**Ah, so you already assume that is what's going to happen. Well, wait, of course you do. I know because, I'm you."**_

"_I'd never let that happen."_

"_**You don't have to." The shadow leered in forward, a dark grin on its lips. "Yosuke will do it all for you."**_

"_He'd never let it get to that point."_

"_**Oh? You know how much he's refusing anything serious between you two. But you know better. You know what is really going on. You know that your feelings are-"**_

"_I don't want to hear anymore. You can't tell me anything like that because only **I** feel those things. You haven't experienced them first-hand, and you most certainly aren't…" Yu stopped himself. He was far too caught up in his anger which was only growing worse with the reminder of the one thing he **didn't **want to think about right now. Being confronted and openly shown every aspect of it made him want to refuse anything to do with it._

"_**I'm not what?"**_

"_You're nothing but a part of me. The part that doesn't feel what I feel."_

"_**Oh but I do. I wouldn't know these things otherwise."**_

"_You might have felt a part of what I feel then, but you would never **understand** those feelings."_

"_**If you say so." The shadow laughed lowly, withdrawing away, only to disappear into the dark corner and become nothingness.**_

_The moment Yu encountered another shadow, Izanagi would not heed to his call. The impending dread hit him full-on, and although he finished the battle with his physical strength, he still knew that he'd said the wrong thing somehow. It had made his shadow split from him, leaving him without his full capabilities._

"He didn't know that what he said still refused me as being him. So I became myself. I took the memories from a former shadow I had met, used them as my own to mold myself as a person. I figured it was a pretty good gig."

Takaya's trademark smirk formed as he started to walk over to Yosuke. "Then I found my way to you. That wasn't hard since I already knew pretty much everything about you."

Yosuke was still trying to find the understanding to everything that was unfolding way too quickly. Too many secrets and hidden intentions, he found himself stuck staring up at Takaya as a colder hand than usual moved over the side of his face.

"I found you and was determined to make you see what you _should've_ seen, since my other self was too fucking stupid to do it himself." Takaya moved his fingertips to trace underneath the teen's jawline gently. "But I kind of wish I could just have you for myself now."

The entire time, Yu stood by and watched. All of his shock was turning to anger again. Secrets revealed without his consent. But now, the anger was forming to something else. His body lurched forward, breaking apart the other two in the vicinity.

His hand remained on Yosuke's forearm, keeping him pressed close and a little bit behind of him as he glared at Takaya.

"It's about fucking time." The slightly altered voice of the brunette filled the room as well. The familiar golden eyes of a mirrored-Yosuke appeared at Takaya's side.

Yosuke fumbled for words but was stuck staring at the hand on his arm. In a way, he wasn't entirely shocked that his own shadow self-had now appeared-_again_. He hadn't exactly been admitting any sort of personal truths lately.

"You now too? When are you two going to go away?"

"When you **both** face the truth." Shadow Yosuke sneered as he leaned against Takaya in a way that almost close to intimate, and it made the raven-haired man begin to shift back to his true form. In less than a blink of an eye was a doppelganger version of Yu.

Yu's shadow openly laughed. "What hypocrites you two can be. I mean, you both preach about finding the truth. Well it's right in front of you. Admit it and things will go back to being as normal as you'd like again." Its hands slid down the figure that was placed against him, their golden eyes staring at each other with mischievous glints.

Yu grew quiet as he was inwardly deliberating on what to do.

"The _truth_?"

"Yosuke, I already know that the entire time we were fucking you thought about **him**."

"I-wasn't-"

"Stop it."

Yu interjected. He kept his gaze cast away as he finally began to reveal some of his thoughts.

"I'm sick of you denying everything Yosuke."

The grip on the boy's forearm increased greatly.

"I tried to go along with it since I thought maybe you were just unsure or uncomfortable, but I know that you feel something, you just have to. I can read you well, and I know after that night at the restaurant that you were feeling more than just liking how we interacted."

"Yu…"

"I didn't want to do anything with Rise, but that's what you wanted me to do. And when you kept pushing me away and closer to her, I didn't know what else to do but go to her. I only wanted you though, I only want you even now goddammit so just-"

The grip became a pull and Yosuke was falling against the frame that was now facing him. A second hand moved over the back of a fair-skin neck, forcing their lips together to meet in a kiss full of longing and deep desire. It was slowly uncovering the layers of emotion that lay hidden. Brown eyes fell to a close as their lips clashed and melded together a thousand times over.

The shortest break was given, letting their eyes meet in a close gaze.

"Just let me have you. Stop pushing me away, because _I love you_."

Yosuke was struck with tug at his heartstrings, a fleeting moment of breathlessness making him lose an ability to speak at the words he heard.

"I'm sorry I've been so selfish." The reply he had been withholding for weeks now began to seep from him. The words had been forming and erasing in his thoughts for too long since it all started. "I'm sorry I pushed you away so much and made you do something you didn't want to do. I'm sorry I made you mad and upset and if I made you cry, fuck just forgive me please, I was scared. And that's a stupid excuse I know-but you have to know I love you too."

His voice was louder than before, the words becoming less of a weight as he stared into steel-grey that were only focused on him.

"You're on my mind all the time. I'm always stuck wondering if you think about me. I kept thinking you didn't feel that much for me other than just being my friend and wanting to have sex. I mean, you could have anyone you wanted; you wouldn't want to waste your time on me. I'm nothing special."

"But you are, god Yosuke, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't even know what real friendship is." Yu leaned in closer, letting their foreheads touch as he gripped into brown locks. "Or what love is."

The emotion was so raw in how they spoke, practically overturning every bit of feeling they had been withholding for the past month. It made Yosuke cry, his hands gripping at the white button-up that the other always wore to school. The world around them tuned out. Neither noticed when the two shadows nearby smirked faintly as they vanished.

_**The darkness doesn't just wish for failure on behalf of the light. It corresponds in a way that proves how to make yourself whole again, to show you back to the light when you refrain off the course you were set on. It only envies because it knows its only purpose is to guide you back to everything that is good, everything that provides you with that feeling of happiness and contentment.**_

_**For once, the shadow wishes to be able to attain such a thing. The longing to experience it just once, to know why others fight and wish for something like that almost desperately at times. To finally have that moment and feel it and understand every feeling that comes along with it only makes it realize just how much it has to fulfill its purpose.**_

_**If it doesn't there would only be darkness. There wouldn't even been the chance to possibly experience such a thing again. The resolve comes through fulfillment. The fulfillment creating the chance to set you back on the right path with the right person.**_

_And so, he did. And so, it's done._


End file.
